Can We Keep Them
by Mei-chan4
Summary: When twin girls Naoko and Hiroko's mother is killed by a mysterious man, they are taken in by Soichiro and his family. Despite his best efforts, the girls wind up involved in the Kira case. How will L handle having two children following him around?
1. Happy Birthday

**All right, this is the rewrite of Can We Keep Them? I wasn't satisfied with the first one due to the fact that I really had no clue where I was going with the story and plot. I hope all of you will enjoy this revised story!**

**Note: This story occurs a week before Light finds the DeathNote**

* * *

Soichiro Yagami sighed as he rubbed his temples. He was hunched over a case file he had been working on for the past few years.

Aizawa poked his head into Soichiro's office. "Tendou Kiyomi-san is here with the girls."

"Send them in." Soichiro smiled as he heard pattering feet rushing towards his office. He braced himself as two blurs leapt onto him. He chuckled and hugged the two girls. "Hello, Naoko and Hiroko. How are my two favorite girls doing?"

A girl with long black hair in two pigtails smiled shyly up at him. Her light blue eyes constantly flitted around the room, as though she was afraid someone would jump out of the shadows at any moment. "It's our birthday today, Yagami-san." She said softly.

"Naoko, you're too quiet." The other girl grouched out. She had short brown hair with a butterfly barrette holding her bangs back. Her eyes were identical to Naoko's but had a more confident light about them. "We're turning seven today!"

Soichiro nodded. "That's wonderful, Hiroko. You two are still so tiny though."

Hiroko puffed her cheeks out. "I know! It's not fair!"

"You two will grow soon enough." A woman smiled from the doorway. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail that went with her haphazard appearance. Her blue eyes were exhausted. "I'm sorry about them, Yagami-san. They've been so excited to see you all day."

"No worries, Kiyomi-san." Soichiro waved his hand dismissively. He motioned for her to sit in a chair across from his desk. "Have you heard from your husband at all?"

Kiyomi shook her head. The twins had moved to her lap now and were snuggled into her side. Kiyomi bit her lip as she smoothed the wisps on the top of the girls' heads. "I'm worried that _he_ got him. Yagami-san, he's going to hurt my girls."

"Is there anything you can tell me about this man?" Soichiro asked, concern laced in his voice. "We can't do anything if we don't know what he looks like."

"I don't know. I've never seen him before. He calls sometimes. Always on the twins birthday. He uses some sort of distorter when he calls so I don't know what he really sounds like."

Soichiro sighed. "We don't have much to go on, Kiyomi-san. We can put you in a safe house…"

"No." Kiyomi said firmly. She stood up and took the twins hands in hers. "He'll find us. No matter where we go, he'll find us." She paused at the door and looked over at Soichiro. "Goodbye, Yagami-san."

Naoko and Hiroko quickly bid Soichiro goodbye as their mother tugged them from the office. Naoko looked up at her mother. "Mommy, why aren't we going to stay with Yagami-san."

"Yeah." Hiroko piped up. "He'll protect us from the bad man."

Kiyomi paused with her daughters outside the police headquarters. She knelt down to their level. "Girls, wherever we go, we put people in danger. You don't want to see Yagami-san hurt, do you?" When the girls' eyes widened and they rapidly shook their heads, Kiyomi pulled them into a tight hug. "I won't let him hurt you, okay?"

The two girls hugged their mother back. "We'll be okay, won't we, Mommy?" Hiroko asked.

"I want Daddy." Naoko whimpered out.

Kiyomi kissed the tops of her daughters' heads. "We'll find Daddy. Don't worry."

* * *

Kiyomi bolted up the stairs with her girls under her arms. She could hear him stepping onto the broken glass from the window he had broken in. She rushed into her bedroom and quickly shoved the girls under the bed. "Be very quiet, Naoko, Hiroko. No matter what happens, no matter what you hear or what you see, don't make a sound or move from under here."

Before the girls could respond, Kiyomi had stood up in front of them. The twins could only see their mother's feet and then…the door to the bedroom opened. Naoko scooted closer to Hiroko and the two clutched tightly to each other.

"What do you want?" Kiyomi hissed at the man.

"I just want to see how my girls are doing." The man answered. "I'm not going to take them away yet. They aren't ready."

"You stay away from my girls!" Kiyomi screamed.

The twins weren't quite sure what the man had done. He lunged toward their mother and their mother went very still. When the man stepped back, Kiyomi collapsed to the ground. The two girls had to slap their hands over their mouths to keep from screaming. Kiyomi had collapsed facing the girls. Blood was pouring from her stomach. When the twins began to reach towards her, she shook her head.

The twins watched in horror as the man pulled their mother back by her hair and busied himself with stabbing her multiple times. Tears poured down the girls faces but they did as their mother had instructed them to and remained silent and still. The two looked away as they heard their mother gasping for breath. Their breath caught in their throat when they heard the man approaching the bed.

The man knelt down so the girls could finally see him clearly. He had black hair that looked like he hadn't brushed it in years. He had dark black eyes with flecks of red in them. He wore a plain baggy white shirt and blue jeans. He stared at the girls for a few moments before reaching out with his bloody hands and caressing their cheeks. "Happy Birthday, Hiroko-chan, Naoko-chan."

* * *

"Hiroko," Naoko sniffled out. "I need to go potty." The two had been curled up under the bed for what felt like ages. The two were snuggled closely together with their mother's dead body a few feet from them.

"What if the bad man is out there still?" Hiroko whispered. Her breath caught in her throat when she heard the front door open. "It's okay, Naoko. I'm right here." She hugged her twin tighter to her as the footsteps drew closer to the bedroom.

"Shit, what the hell happened here!" An unfamiliar voice squeaked out.

"That's Kiyomi!" A voice the twins recognized shouted.

"Yagami-san?" The girls cried out together.

Soichiro peered under the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you girls hurt?"

"No." Naoko sniffled out. "The bad man hurt Mommy and then left us. Is he still out there?"

"He's gone." Soichiro reassured. "Come on out girls. How long have you two been under there?"

"We don't know." Hiroko wailed. "The bad man came here when we got home. Naoko's too scared to come out!"

"So are you!" Naoko cried out.

"They've been under there all night." Aizawa muttered.

"Girls, I need you to come out from under the bed." Soichiro said soothingly. "The bad man is gone now. He's not going to hurt you."

"He killed Mommy!" Naoko began crying again.

"It's our fault Mommy is dead!" Hiroko added.

Despite their best efforts to coax the two girls out, the twins wouldn't budge. Finally, Soichiro, with Aizawa and Matsuda's help, flipped the mattress off the bed. Soichiro knocked the boards out of the bottom of the bed and lifted the girls up out from under the bed.

Matsuda held Hiroko disdainfully away from himself. "Director, it's glaring at me."

Hiroko huffed and weakly kicked Matsuda in the face. "Shut up, Meanie Face."

Aizawa chuckled as he held Naoko. "We're going to get you girls somewhere safe."

Naoko smiled warily up at Aizawa. "Thank you Officer-san."

* * *

Soichiro shifted nervously outside his door with the two girls beside him. They had taken the girls back to headquarters with them and somehow or another it was decided he would take the girls home with him. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Sachiko about it and he was unsure how she would feel about the twins staying with them. Taking a deep breath, he smiled at the girls and ushered them into the house.

Sachiko poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled. "Hello, Dear." She raised an eyebrow at the two girls hiding behind her husband. "Dinner guests?"

"Fairly permanent ones." Soichiro answered. "Girls, go into the living room and watch TV. Light should be in there."

Hiroko dragged Naoko away from the safety of Soichiro's side. She found the living room and a teenage boy sitting on the couch watching TV. She stood beside him until he looked down at her and her twin. "Hi."

Light raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"I'm Tendou Hiroko and this is my twin Naoko." Hiroko answered while Naoko hid behind her. "We're going to be living here now cause a bad man killed our mommy and daddy. Hey, where's the bathroom? I've gotta go potty."

Light pointed Hiroko down the hallway and was left with Naoko standing beside him looking terrified. He smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry, I won't bite you." He patted the seat beside him on the couch.

Naoko hesitated a moment before hopping up onto the couch beside Light. She sat stiffly beside him. She eyed Light wearily as he continued to smile at her. "What are you watching?" She finally asked.

"The news." Light shrugged. He changed the channel to cartoons.

"There's a lot of bad people in this world, aren't there?" Naoko asked. She had seen the story that had been playing before Light changed the channel. A woman had been murdered by her husband for insurance money. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared at the cartoons dancing on the screen.

"Yeah." Light answered. Slowly he reached over and ruffled Naoko's hair. "But there are good people too. You've just got to look a lot harder for them."

Naoko stared up at him. "Your dad is a nice person." She said softly. She yawned suddenly. Her and Hiroko had not slept at all while they were under the bed for fear the bad man would return. Without really thinking, she laid down and rested her head on Light's lap.

Light watched Naoko as she drifted off to sleep. He glanced up when Hiroko came back and snuggled next to her sister on the couch and fell asleep as well. He pulled the small blanket off the back of the couch and covered the two girls before flipping the TV back to the news. "This is a really rotten world for you girls two grow up in."

* * *

**Eh….didn't mean to make it so depressing. The next few chapters will be much more light hearted. Well, as lighthearted as DeathNote can get anyways.**


	2. Funeral

**First day of summer camp at work! Hopefully working ten hour days with small children won't kill me…**

**I'm glad everyone enjoyed the new beginning for this story!**

**Usagi323: Lol, that's why I added the "as lighthearted as DeathNote can get". I'm going to try and incorporate happy, peaceful moments but considering the story…**

**IAmABoredGirlWithNothingToDo: Yeah, I probably should have written more about the twins crying whenever their mother died. I had the scene in my head and just didn't add that whole part in. I may go back and add the scene later on. As for the how they reacted after Soichiro and the others found them, it's personally just how I am after someone has died. Granted, I've never had a parent stabbed in front of me so maybe I'd be different in the situation. I just usually will cry for a good few hours after the initial death and then I just kind of go back to being normal until the funeral. They will go hysterical at their mother's funeral, I assure you :)**

**snickerslol04: I will be following the main DeathNote storyline but tweaking it here and there in order to incorporate the twins.**

**Sakura02: We can do the cake baking scene now! :)**

**randomkidinthecorner: See IAm's review response for the emotional. Don't worry, there will be plenty of Mello later on, I promise.**

**Thanks so much: NijiNoNeko, Rachael Hyuuga, animeXbooksXmanga, and anomous for reviewing!**

* * *

"I don't wanna go." Hiroko huffed as Sachiko pulled the black dress over her head.

Naoko sat patiently on Sayu's bed. The two girls were staying in Soichiro and Sachiko's room until Soichiro could convert a part of the living room into a bedroom for the twins. Naoko's hair was braided with a white ribbon tied at the end. She wore an identical simple black dress to Hiroko. She kicked her black dress shoes against the side of the bed. "Sachiko-san, can we stay home?"

Sachiko smiled sadly at the two girls as she finished wrangling Hiroko into her dress and shoes. She brushed out Hiroko's hair and then pulled it into two pigtails with white ribbons. "This will be the last time you get to see your mother. Don't you want to say goodbye?"

"No." Hiroko said stubbornly. "If we don't go and see her, it's like she isn't dead." Hiroko sniffled and wiped her nose. "I don't wanna say goodbye."

Sachiko pulled the two girls into a hug. "You'll be all right. Soichiro will be with the both of you."

Naoko shifted in Sachiko's arms. "Sachiko-san, I have to go potty." She ran out of the room and down to the bathroom. When she emerged Light was walking by. She stood up straighter and a light pink dusted her cheeks. "H-Hello, Light-san!"

Light smiled warmly at Naoko. "You look very pretty, Naoko-chan. Are you ready?"

"Um…yes…" Naoko looked down at the floor to hide her saddened eyes. She was slightly startled when she felt warm hands on her shoulders. She looked up with tears at the corners of her eyes to meet Light's concerned ones. "Light-san?"

Light brushed the tears from Naoko's eyes before hugging her. "It'll be all right. If you'd like, I could go with you."

Naoko's eyes lit up. "Really!" She had grown attached to Light over the past couple of days that the twins had been living in the Yagami household. When Light nodded, Naoko smiled brightly. "Thank you, Light-san!" She watched him rush to quickly change into a suit.

"Girls, it's time to go!" Soichiro stood at the bottom of the stairs. He took both of the girls hands in his. "Are you ready?"

"Light-san is going to come too." Naoko said as Soichiro ushered them out to the car.

Light bounded down the stairs just as Soichiro was securing the girls in the back. He slid into the front beside his father and smiled warmly at the two girls. "Don't worry. Father and I will be there for the two of you."

Hiroko looked over at her sister before reaching out and holding her hand. She smiled when Naoko squeezed her hand. Having Soichiro and Light there was nice, but if Hiroko hadn't had Naoko with her, she would've felt lost and alone. She knew Naoko felt the same way about her. As the car pulled away from the house the two girls looked out their respective windows but their hands remained together.

* * *

Hiroko was glad the casket was closed. She had heard people whispering about how horrible her mother's body had looked and that no makeup could hide what had been done to her. Flashes of her mother's dead, bloody body flashed through Hiroko's mind as a man who didn't know her mother talked about her. She clutched Naoko's hand tighter as memories of that night that felt so long ago flashed through her.

Naoko could feel her twins distress. She untangled their hands long enough to wrap them around Hiroko's shoulders and hug her tightly as the man talked of what a kind woman their mother had been. She rested her head against Hiroko's and softly sang a lullaby that their mother had always sung to them.

Soichiro stood up and knelt in front of the girls. "It's time to go to the cemetery. Do you want to go up to the casket?"

Both girls looked where lines of people they had never seen before went up to say goodbye to their mother. Hiroko shook her head. "No." She said shakily. "Can we go now." The two had held up fairly well during the funeral. It hadn't felt like their mother's funeral because no one they knew was there. All of their mother's side of the family had died before they were born and their father's side had wanted nothing to do with Kiyomi or the girls. These were all just strangers and without being able to see the body, it felt like a strangers funeral.

Light gently ushered the girls out to the car while Soichiro helped carry the casket to the Hearse. He reached a hand back and rubbed the twins once again joined hands.

The twins were silent on the ride to the cemetery. Naoko noted that it was a surprisingly sunny day and didn't match the somber mood of the occasion. When they pulled up into the cemetery, the two were ushered to the only two seats at the burial site. The two sat side by side and held hands as a man spoke more about their mother. The two were handed roses to place on the casket. With Light's help, they put the white roses on top of the casket.

It was when the men began lowering the casket into the ground, that Hiroko lost it. She collapsed to her knees in front of hole and began sobbing. "Mommy! Mommy!"

Naoko knelt beside Hiroko and hugged her twin, trying to console her but she lost the battle against her tears as well. Now that the casket was lowered she could see her mother's gravestone already in place with her name, birth date, and death date. That is what made it real to Hiroko and Naoko. That was what identified this as being the final goodbye to their mother. The two sat there and cried until they had no tears left and could only manage out choked noises.

Light made an attempt to go to the girls but Soichiro held him back.

"Let them grieve on their own for a moment." He glared over at the gate where he could already see journalist swarming. They had been pounding on his door ever since they found out about the murdered mother, the missing father, and the surviving girls. "They need time to themselves."

Hiroko felt completely spent by the time she couldn't even make crying noises. Her throat her and her eyes were sore. Everything hurt. She didn't loosen her grip on Naoko even as she felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep.

Soichiro stepped forward at that moment. "Light, your jacket." Soichiro wrapped Hiroko in his jacket while Light wrapped Naoko in his. He looked over at Aizawa, Matsuda, Ide, and Mogi whom had all come as well. "All of you, lay your jackets in the back just I lay the girls. I don't want those vultures sneaking pictures of them."

Naoko felt herself being place back in the car and the car starting. She poked her head out form under the jacket. "Light-san?"

Light quickly turned and held a finger to his lips. "Stay down."

Naoko obeyed and ducked her head back in. She saw Hiroko poke her head out and quickly motioned for her twin to hide. They could hear the sounds of people shouting questions and the click of cameras. After a few moments, everything was quiet.

"Vultures, all of them." Soichiro snapped irritably. He glanced in the back and pulled the jackets off the two girls. He sighed in relief when he saw they were sound asleep again.

* * *

Naoko woke with a start in the middle of the night. She looked around frantically before letting out a keening cry.

Soichiro sat up with a start and stumbled out of the bed. "Naoko, what's wrong?" He whispered.

Naoko simply shook her head as Hiroko woke up and began crying as well. "Something bad is going to happen! Mommy told me!" Naoko cried.

"Me too!" Hiroko wailed out as Sachiko leapt from her bed and helped Soichiro to comfort the girls.

"It was just a bad dream." Sachiko cooed. She gently laid the two girls down and tucked them back in. "Now, go to sleep. Nothing bad is going to happen."

The twins turned on their sides and simply sniffled softly while Soichiro and Sachiko went back to sleep. "Hiroko, did you have the same dream?"

Hiroko nodded her head. "Mommy came and talked to me. She said the bad man is still out there."

"There was something else." Naoko whispered.

"Yeah." Hiroko said. "There was a scary thing that laughed all creepy like and something else…"

"A notebook." Naoko breathed out. "A black notebook…"

* * *

**So, I know I said the next few chapters were going to be more lighthearted but then I remembered I had to write the funeral. Which by the way, was really hard for me to write. I cried when I wrote it. I think the memory is still too fresh for me…**


	3. It Begins

**I love having Mondays off from work. It makes the week seem to go by faster. There's only a few more days until my birthday on the 19th! I'm finally going to be 21!**

**Sakura02: Thank you; no my angry elf is skipping around every time I write about him. **

**NijiNoNeko: Light has not yet found the DeathNote. He will in this chapter though.**

**Nalondria or Johnquelle: 1) I'm very sorry that you don't like Naoko. Unfortunately, you'll have to deal with her because she is one of the main characters of this story. 2) Hiroko would surely beat up anyone that thought of her as weak :) 3) Unfortunately, you are incorrect in how the girls know about the DeathNote/Ryuk. Please keep reading to find out how the girls know about them.**

**Thanks: animeXbooksXmanga, Rachael Hyuuga, Usagi323, yvonna, and gaaraofthefunk13 for your reviews.**

* * *

Hiroko yawned as she slowly munched on her cereal. It was too early to be up in her honest opinion. She glanced over at her twin whom was talking softly to Light. "Are you going to school today, Light?"

Light smiled apologetically at the two girls. "Unfortunately." He patted both of their heads as he got up from the table. "When I get home, we'll play Candy Land."

A grin split Hiroko's face. "I love Candy Land." She hopped out of her chair along with Naoko and followed Light to the door. The two girls stood in the entrance and waved to Light as he left.

Sachiko came up behind the girls. "Who wants to go to the park?"

Naoko giggled as Hiroko was suddenly wide awake and yelling at her to hurry up and get dressed. She followed Hiroko up to Sachiko and Soichiro's room to find her twin throwing clothes out of their dresser drawer. Naoko blinked as Hiroko threw a white tank top at her along with a pair of jeans.

"Hurry up, Naoko!" Hiroko whined impatiently as she pulled on a matching outfit to Naoko. She hated how people thought it was cute to dress twins up in the same clothes but Sachiko had been so kind allowing the girls to stay with her and her family that she didn't really complain. "It's been forever since we've gotten to play outside."

Indeed, it had been nearly two months since the death of their mother. In that entire time, Soichiro had forbidden the girls to leave the house for fear of journalist harassing them. A recent, more fascinating murder had occurred about a week ago where a husband killed his wife and three children before attempting to kill himself and so the journalist were drawn away from the girls.

Sachiko smiled as she came in to find the girls dressed. "Ready?" She held both of the girls' hands and led them out of the house and the few blocks to the park. Sachiko sat on a bench and motioned for the girls to go play.

The two girls made a beeline for the swings. They had always loved swinging especially when their father pushed them so high that their feet touched the tree. Naoko looked up at the sky as the twins swung back and forth. "Hiroko, you saw it the other day, didn't you? The black thing that fell from the sky."

Hiroko looked up and nodded her head. "Yeah. I wonder what it was. Maybe a bird."

"It didn't look like a bird…" Naoko said softly. A sudden chill crawled up her back and she whipped around. She could have sworn she felt someone watching her but there was no one there.

"Naoko, you okay?" Hiroko asked, nervously looking around as well. She could feel someone watching them as well.

Naoko quickly shook her head. "Y-Yeah. Let's go play on the slide."

Sachiko watched the girls play for a few hours before calling them back over. "What would you two like for dinner?"

"I want salmon!" Hiroko piped up. "I love salmon!"

Sachiko chuckled as she unlocked the front door and ushered the two girls in. "Salmon it is then."

The two girls grinned at each other before plopping down in front of the television. The news channel came on with a report of how their father was still missing and how police were still searching for him. Naoko quickly changed the channel and the two girls watched cartoons until they heard the sound of the door opening.

"Welcome back, Light-san!" Naoko leapt up and rushed to the door to greet Light while Hiroko remained glued to the television. Naoko hugged Light briefly and smiled as he ruffled her hair. She blinked when she saw a black notebook sticking out of his bag. "Light-san, what's that?"

Light looked down before shrugging. "I found it outside at school. It's just some stupid chain letter thing." He ruffled her hair again before heading upstairs. "I'm going to change and then we can play Candy Land." He chuckled when he heard Hiroko's excited squeal.

Naoko lingered at the bottom of the stairs, frowning thoughtfully. "A black notebook…"

"Naoko, let's set up Candy Land!" Hiroko called from the living room.

Naoko snapped out of her stupor and rushed into the living room. "Okay!"

* * *

"Light, will you play with us today?" Hiroko whined. It had been nearly five days since their day at the park and ever since that day, Light had been locking himself in his room as soon as he got home.

"Sorry, Hiroko, Naoko, but I can't." Light smiled apologetically at the twins. "I've got to study. You'll understand when you get into high school."

Hiroko puffed her cheeks out. "Stupid school…"

Naoko looked at Light for a moment. "Light-san what'd you do with that chain letter?"

Light simply ruffled her hair before heading upstairs. "I threw it away of course. There's no point in keeping garbage like that around with so many impressionable minds in this house."

As soon as Light was upstairs and Sachiko was busy in the kitchen cooking dinner, Hiroko leaned over to whisper to Naoko. "Are you sure it was like the notebook in our dream?"

"Yeah." Naoko said softly. "Do you think it has something to do with the bad man?"

Hiroko shook her head. "No way! Light isn't a bad person. He said he got rid of it so there's no point in worrying about it."

Naoko shrugged. "I guess so." She stood up and rushed up the stairs along with Hiroko when she heard Light yell. "Light-san, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine girls." Light's voice called from his room. "I just…tripped over my chair and fell."

"Oh… He's fine, Sachiko!" Hiroko called down the stairs to where Sachiko was standing worriedly. "Can me and Naoko play in the backyard until dinner is ready?" She asked as she pulled Naoko down the stairs and towards the back door.

"Just don't get dirty." Sachiko called as Hiroko was already outside.

The twins ran about the backyard, playing tag. At one point, Hiroko roughly pushed Naoko to the ground, causing Naoko to fall forward and land face first in the grass. "Hiroko!" Naoko yelped. She sat up slowly and winced when she saw the scrape on her knee already bleeding.

"I'm sorry, Naoko!" Hiroko was at her twin's side in an instant and hugging her. "Are you okay? I'll let you push me to make up for it!"

"Naoko, are you okay?" Light was leaning out his window, looking down to make sure that Naoko was all right.

Naoko smiled up at him. "I'm fine, Light-san." She looked forward and her breath caught in her throat. There, sitting on the power line right across from the Yagami house, sat a shinigami. She wasn't sure how she knew what it was for she had never seen a shinigami before. All she knew was that her brain was screaming at her that it was a shinigami and that she should run.

"Naoko?" Hiroko looked up where her sister was staring so intently in time to see the shinigami fly into Light's room. "W-What was that?"

Naoko scrambled to stand and rushed back into the house with Hiroko close behind her. The two ran passed a startled Sachiko before bolting up the stairs. "Light-san, are you okay?"

Light poked his head out of his room. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"A monster just flew into your room!" Hiroko yelled out.

Light raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder. "What are you talking about? Have you been watching those scary movies again? You know Mom and Dad forbid you guys from watching those."

"No!" Hiroko said. "It was a big black scary monster sitting on the power lines!"

"It was probably just the neighbor's cat." Light explained calmly. "You know how it likes to walk on the power lines." He frowned when he saw the blood trickling down Naoko's leg. "Let's get you cleaned up." He picked up Naoko and carried her to the bathroom with Hiroko trailing behind him.

Naoko flinched as Light dabbed at her knee with peroxide. She smiled gratefully at him as he put a Hello Kitty band aid on her knee. "Are you sure you're okay, Light-san?"

Light smiled at the two girls that were looking expectantly at him. He hugged both girls and kissed the sides of their heads. "I'm fine. In fact, I've never been better."

* * *

That night, the girls were curled up side by side on their pallets. Hiroko sighed. "I wish Soichiro would come home…"

"Sachiko-san said he went to an Interpol meeting." Naoko said quietly. "Hiroko, I don't think it was a cat…"

Hiroko nodded, her face serious. "Maybe Light didn't see it?" Her eyes widened in horror. "What if the shinigami is after Light? We have to warn him!"

Naoko quickly shook her head. "Light-san can't see it and he didn't believe us when we told him. We'll just keep an eye out for it and if it shows up again, we'll chase it away!"

Hiroko nodded enthusiastically. "We'll protect Light from the scary shinigami!"

The two girls fell asleep that night with smiles on their faces.

* * *

**Poor naïve girls…review please!**


	4. The Seal

**yvonna: Even though I'm fairly certain that everyone knows who the "bad man" is, I won't officially reveal it until later :)**

**Sakura02: Nah, they're getting home schooled by Sachiko-san. Would you trust those two in public school? And I never have seen a cat walking on a power line, but they apparently do it. **

**Thanks: Rachael Hyuuga, Usagi323, randomkidinthecorner, NijiNoNeko, and gaaraofthefunk13 for reviewing.**

* * *

"Girls, it's time to wake up." Sachiko cooed to the two girls curled up beside each other. She smiled as Naoko simply turned to face the other way while Hiroko buried herself deeper under the covers. "It's time to start your lessons. Soichiro doesn't want you two going to public school so I'm going to be teaching you from now on. Come on. Wake up."

Naoko yawned as she sat up and looked sleepily around. She looked over where Hiroko was still sound asleep and promptly threw herself on top of Hiroko. "Wake up, Hiroko!"

Hiroko yelped and thrashed about before finally emerging from beneath the blankets. She did her best to glare angrily at her twin but due to her still being half asleep, the glare wasn't near as threatening as she would have liked. "It's too early." She whined.

Sachiko chuckled and left the room. "Hurry up and get dressed or your breakfast will get cold."

Naoko smiled as her twin frantically ran about getting dressed. She followed her sister's example and changed. She had barely pulled her shirt over her head when Hiroko grabbed her hand and dragged her downstairs.

Light smiled at the two girls as they sat across from him. "Good morning, Hiroko, Naoko. Did you two sleep well?"

Both girls eyed the shinigami cackling behind Light warily. Hiroko was the first to snap out of it and smile at Light. "Yeah. Are you going to school again? Can't you stay and play with us?"

Light chuckled as he stood up. He went to the two girls and kissed the tops of their heads. "We'll play this weekend; I promise. Besides, you two get to start your own school today. Isn't that fun?"

Hiroko huffed and crosses her arms over her chest. "No. I hate school. The kids always picked on me and Naoko 'cause…" She abruptly stopped when Naoko kicked her under the table. "…'cause they were mean." Hiroko finished lamely.

Light raised an eyebrow and looked at both girls. Both Naoko and Hiroko had gone silent and refused to meet his gaze. He sighed and hugged the two girls. "Well, you won't have to worry about mean kids here. It'll just be the two of you and mom. Be good girls."

Sachiko smiled as she came back into the room, her arms filled with school books. "Shall we get started?"

* * *

"You two are amazing!" Sachiko squealed in delight as she looked over the review tests she had given the girls. "You're both only in second grade yet you're able to do seventh grade level work!" She had begun giving the girls harder tests when she saw how easily the girls finished off all of the second grade level work.

Hiroko grinned and puffed her chest out. "Mommy always told us we were geniuses."

"Just wait until Soichiro gets home." Sachiko smiled as she hugged the two girls. "Maybe we can get you two of you into private school…"

"No!" Naoko and Hiroko cried in unison. At Sachiko's shocked face, Naoko continued. "We like staying here with you, Sachiko-san. We don't want to leave."

Sachiko's smile returned and she hugged the girls tightly. "You two are so sweet." She looked up when Light entered. "Light, we have two more geniuses in this house!"

Light smiled as the twins rushed over and hugged him. "Is that so? I better watch my back or you two might steal my number one spot." He laughed as the two girls quickly shook their heads.

"Welcome home, Light-san!" Naoko said happily.

"We won't steal your spot, Light!" Hiroko said. "Light's the smartest person in the whole world!"

Sachiko chuckled as Light attempted to dislodge himself from the two children. "Girls, Light has to study. Why don't you two watch some TV while I get dinner ready."

The girls reluctantly released Light and allowed him to go upstairs. They looked around but couldn't see the shinigami anywhere. They hoped that perhaps he had simply grown bored and left.

"Wow, more criminals have died again…" Hiroko said as she and Naoko turned the television to the news.

Naoko was about to respond when suddenly the news cut off and a man sitting at a desk appeared. He had a nameplate in front of him that read 'Lind L. Taylor'. "I wonder what's going on."

"Maybe it's a special or something…" Hiroko answered.

"My name is Lind L. Taylor, more commonly known as 'L'." The man on the screen announced.

Both girls looked at each other curiously. They had heard their mother talking to someone on the phone about a person named L. They wondered if this could be the same man their mother had been trying to find. The two remembered clearly how frantically their mother had asked the other person on the phone on how she could contact L. Their mother had made that call a few months before the bad man had killed her.

The man on the screen continued to speak. "To the perpetrator of these atrocious serial murders, you have committed the most horrendous act in all of history. I will personally catch Kira, the person responsible for these murders, at any cost."

"Who's Kira?" Hiroko asked, her eyes never leaving the screen.

Naoko shrugged. "I don't know. I've never heard of him before. I guess he's the reason all those bad people have been dying lately…"

Sachiko clucked her tongue disapprovingly as she came into the living room. "This isn't something you girls should be watching."

"I think I know why you are doing this," the man on the screen continued. "But, Kira, what you are doing, is evil!"

Hiroko waved her hand. "Don't change the channel!"

Sachiko was about to protest when the man clutched his chest and suddenly slumped forward. "Oh my!"

The twins watched in shock as people dragged the man off the screen. "Did Kira just kill him!" Hiroko yelped out.

Naoko was about to respond when a distorted voice began speaking from the TV. "This is unbelievable. I did this on the off-chance that you would kill 'me'. So, Kira, you can kill anyone without even being nearby…" A giant 'L' suddenly appeared on the screen. "I am the real L, so why don't you kill me!"

"Wow, this is exciting!" Hiroko grinned as L continued yelling at Kira through the TV to kill him.

"Hiroko, this is serious!" Naoko said. "What if that L person really does get killed?"

"That's enough of that." Sachiko said firmly as she shut the TV off. "You two are going to have nightmares now, I just know it."

"I'm home!" Sayu sang as she skipped into the house.

"Sayu-oneechan!" The two girls leapt off of the couch and rushed over to the middle school girl. The two hugged her and grinned up at her. "Welcome home, Sayu-oneechan!"

Sayu grinned and hugged the two girls back. "How are my cute little imouto-chan's doing? Hey, Mom, I'm going upstairs to do my homework."

"You mean you're going to get Light to help you." Hiroko said mischievously.

"Hush you." Sayu stuck her tongue playfully out at Hiroko. "If you don't tell Mom, I'll let you come up with me and play in Light's room."

"You two need to take a bath before Soichiro gets home." Sachiko said firmly. "Go on upstairs."

The twins pouted but did as they were told. The bath was already drawn and Sachiko had even put bubbles in the water. The two splashed around for a while before finally cleaning themselves.

"I wonder if that L is the same L Mommy wanted to find." Hiroko said thoughtfully.

"I don't know." Naoko sighed.

Hiroko's eyes suddenly lit up. "If it is, maybe we can find him! I bet he'll be able to catch the bad man!"

"How are we going to find L? Mommy couldn't even find him and she's a grown up." Naoko answered.

Hiroko was silent for a moment. She grinned triumphantly and clapped her hands together. "We can ask Soichiro! If L is a good guy, I bet Soichiro knows him!"

"That's a great idea!" Naoko grinned as well.

"All right you two," Light entered the room, a mock stern look on his face. "Mom has been calling for you two for the past ten minutes now about dinner being ready. He plucked a towel off the bathroom counter and lunged forward to wrap Hiroko in it.

Hiroko squealed as she was lifted out of the water and roughly dried off. "I'm not a puppy, Light!" She whined as she managed to poke her head out.

Light bit back a laugh at how her hair was in such a disarray and still dripping with water. The angry pout she gave him didn't help. "Are you sure?" He put her down and ushered her back to Sachiko and Soichiro's room to change. "Your turn." He grinned at Naoko as he scooped her up as well.

Naoko giggled as he dried her off. She blinked up at him. "Light-san, does Soichiro-san know L?"

"Why?" Light asked, tensing slightly.

"Because our mommy was trying to find L before…before the bad man killed her." Naoko said softly. "We thought maybe L could help me and Hiroko find the bad man."

Light carried Naoko back into his parents room and sat her on the floor. "I don't think he knows L personally but the police sometimes work with L. Maybe he can find a way to contact him for the two of you."

Naoko's face lit up. "Really?" As Light nodded, Naoko spun around to go get changed. Both her and Hiroko missed the dark look that crossed Light's face as he left the room.

"All right, I hear we have two new geniuses in this house."

Both girls whipped around as they finished changing and grinned. "Soichiro!" The two cried as they tackled Soichiro to the ground.

Soichiro chuckled as he hugged the two girls. "It shouldn't surprise me that you two are so smart. After all, your mother…" He trailed off at the sad looks on the two girls faces. "Dinner is ready. Let's go eat."

Both girls held onto Soichiro's hands as they skipped down the stairs. "Are we having salmon?" Hiroko asked hopefully.

"We had salmon last night." Sachiko smiled as the two girls sat beside each other at the table.

The two girls listened as the Yagami family spoke. Naoko frowned at how quiet Soichiro was. Now that she looked at him closer, she could see dark circles under his eyes. "Soichiro-san, are you okay?"

Soichiro smiled reassuringly at the two girls. "This new case is rather exhausting. It's like trying to catch a ghost. The big boss suggested today that we may be looking for a student as a possible suspect…"

Hiroko glanced over and saw the shinigami hovering behind Light. She glared over at it while it simply stared at her. Could the shinigami be the one behind the murders? Why was it attached to Light?

"All right," Soichiro stood up. "I think it's time for two little girls to go to bed."

"Aw, do we have to?" Hiroko whined, though she didn't protest as Soichiro picked up both her and Naoko and carried them upstairs.

Soichiro tucked the two girls in. "Get a good night sleep girls." He smiled as he quietly turned off the lights and left the room.

* * *

Naoko sat up in her bed and looked frantically around. She could hear a noise from downstairs. She looked over and shook Hiroko's shoulder. "Hiroko, wake up."

Hiroko groggily sat up. She tensed as she too heard the noise. "What if it's that shinigami again?" She stood up and took her sister's hand in hers. "Let's go check it out."

"Shouldn't we wake up, Soichiro-san?" Naoko whispered as the two tiptoed down the hallway towards the stairs.

"Nah. If it's the shinigami, they won't be able to see him." Hiroko whispered. Neither girl dared to mention the possibility of it being the bad man.

The two girls crept down the stairs and peered around the corner into the kitchen. Both tensed when they saw it was indeed the shinigami. Hiroko bravely stepped forward, still holding Naoko's hand. "Hey, shinigami, what are you doing here?"

The shinigami turned around, an apple in its mouth. It cackled when it saw the girls. "Well, fancy seeing you two here. I'm surprised you two can see me right now. I guess the seal is breaking." He swallowed an apple and smacked his lips.

"What seal?" Naoko asked. "What are you talking about?"

Both girls yelped as the shinigami was suddenly in front of them, one hand covering each of their faces. The shinigami cackled. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt either of you. But, it'll be bad news if the seal breaks right now. I'll fix it for now. You won't remember seeing me or anything." A light flashed from his hands and the two girls collapsed to the floor.

Ryuk crouched down next to the girls. "It's not time yet. It'll be interesting when you two finally grow up, though." He cackled as he went back upstairs to Light's room, leaving the two girls unconscious on the floor.

**

* * *

**

**Review please!**


	5. Talking to the Computer

**SaiyukiSucker: Lol, well, Ryuk isn't exactly the nicest person…shinigami…thing in the world. :) Don't worry, they'll be fine.**

**Sakura02: I think they're actually a year older than the first time around. I tried to make them a little more childlike than I did the first time around.**

**animeXbooksXmanga: Thank you :)**

**Usagi323: Yes, well, Ryuk isn't the nicest creature in the world.**

**NijiNoNeko: Yes, this is what I was starting to hint at in Time of Dying. When I first wrote this story, I really didn't know what I was doing, or where I was going with it. The whole reason I wanted to start over was so I could begin to hint that the girls are not ordinary children.**

* * *

"Oh my goodness! Hiroko, Naoko, what are you two doing here?" Sachiko knelt beside the two girls that were unconscious on the ground.

Hiroko groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She looked blearily around, confused as to why she was lying on the floor in the kitchen. "I…I don't know. I remember waking up last night and coming down here for some reason…"

Naoko sat up and rubbed her head. "There was a noise…"

"Are you two okay?" Light rushed down the stairs, clear concern in his eyes at the two girls on the floor.

The twins squinted, swearing there was something behind Light. There was a faint outline, almost like a mirage of something. When they blinked, it was gone. Both girls quickly shook their head. "Yeah, we're okay." Hiroko laughed sheepishly. "I guess we were just really tired."

Sachiko sighed in relief. "Honestly, you two. Go upstairs and get ready now. The two of you are going with Soichiro for a little bit today."

The two girls looked at each other. "Why?" Naoko asked.

"It's just more questioning, girls." Soichiro assured as he came down the stairs. "It won't take long at all and then Sachiko will come and take both of you home."

Light sighed when he saw the upset looks on the girls faces. He knew how much they hated talking about the night their mother had died. He knelt beside the two and put a hand on both of their heads. "Listen, if you two are good girls and don't complain, when I get home today, we'll play a game."

"Really?" Hiroko's eyes lit up. "You aren't going to be too busy studying?"

"No, I think I can take a little break tonight." Light answered.

Naoko sighed as her twin dragged her up the stairs to get ready. The two dressed quickly and went back downstairs to find Soichiro waiting for them. The twins ate their breakfast quickly before following Soichiro to the car. The car ride was fairly silent as the twins grew more and more tense the closer they got to the police headquarters.

"Now, remember," Soichiro said as he led both girls in by their hands. "just answer the questions truthfully. Even if something doesn't seem that important, tell the officer, okay? Sachiko will come get all of you shortly."

"What are you going to be doing, Soichiro?" Hiroko asked.

"Just working on a case." Soichiro said offhandedly.

"The Kira case, right?" Naoko asked. "That's what the people on the internet call the person anyways."

"Soichiro-san, everyone is waiting on you."

Hiroko stared in awe at the man standing before them. He wore a full length trench coat and a hat the covered his face completely. "It's a super secret spy!"

Soichiro nodded to the officer that retrieved the two girls. "I'll be home for dinner tonight, girls! Be good!"

* * *

Hiroko yawned as the twins sat on a bench in the main lobby, waiting for Sachiko. The questions had been the same as when their mother had first been murdered. Nothing new. "Naoko, I'm thirsty."

"Sachiko-san will be here soon." Naoko assured as Hiroko leaned against her.

"But I'm really thirsty." Hiroko whined. "Let's find Soichiro and see if he'll get us a soda."

Before Naoko could protest, Hiroko was already off the bench and dragging her around the police headquarters. "We're going to get in trouble."

"No, we're too cute to get into trouble." Hiroko grinned. She peered around the corner and found the hallway completely empty. A door stood at the end of the hallway. "I bet he's in there."

"Hiroko, we shouldn't just go into rooms…" Naoko sighed as her twin once again ignored her and opened the door to an empty room. "See, Soichiro-san isn't even here."

"What are you two doing here?"

"It's the spy from earlier!" Hiroko squeaked out.

The man sighed as he stood in front of a desk. "Children shouldn't be wandering around here. Where's your mother?"

"Sachiko-san isn't here yet." Naoko said softly, trying to pull Hiroko from the room. "We were just looking for Soichiro-san."

_"Watari, who is it?" _A garbled voice said from behind the man.

Hiroko dragged Naoko over to the man and peered around him. Her eyes widened when she saw a computer with a giant L on the screen. "You're the guy that fought with the Kira guy on the TV!"

Watari sighed. "It seems these are the children that Yagami Soichiro took in after their mother's murder."

Hiroko pulled herself up onto the desk and sat in front of the laptop. "Are you really L? Why are you in the computer? Do you live there?"

_"…you're rather talkative, aren't you." _L's voice said. _"Please move away from the screen. I can see you just find if you stand by Watari."_

Hiroko blinked but hopped off the desk. She stood beside Naoko and grinned at her twin. "Naoko, it's the guy Mommy was trying to find!"

"Excuse me, L-san," Naoko said softly. "our mom was trying to find you before…" She bit her lip as that night flashed through her mind. "before the bad man killed her. Did you know our mom?"

L was silent for a moment. _"What was your mother's name?"_

"Tendou Kiyomi." Hiroko answered. Maybe L would find the person that had killed their mother. Maybe he would help them find their father.

Again, L was silent. _"I'm afraid I don't know her. You say she was trying to find me?"_

"Hiroko, Naoko, what are you two doing in here?" Soichiro said as he came into the room, a clearly panicked look on his face. "Sachiko's been looking everywhere for the two of you."

"It's my fault." Watari said before either girl could say anything. "I had seen them with you earlier and when I saw them sitting alone in the lobby, I thought it would be fine to bring them here to wait for you. My apologies."

Hiroko and Naoko were both surprised that the man had lied for them so they wouldn't get in trouble. The two girls smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks for playing with us, Watari!" Hiroko said. "You can come over and have dinner with us, okay?"

Watari chuckled and patted Hiroko's head. "Of course, Hiroko."

Soichiro sighed. "Thank you for watching them, Watari. I hope they didn't cause too much trouble." He began ushering the two girls out of the room.

Hiroko glanced over her shoulder at the screen with the giant L on it. She smiled and waved. "Maybe we can play together soon." She said before Soichiro shut the door.

After Sachiko had finished thoroughly scolding the girls, they went home. Hiroko and Naoko sat in the living room coloring while they waited for Light to come home and play with them.

"I don't think we should tell Soichiro-san about us talking to L." Naoko said softly so Sachiko wouldn't hear her. "He'd probably get really upset with us."

"Yeah," Hiroko sighed. "I wonder why Mommy was trying to talk to him."

Naoko shrugged. "I wonder where Daddy is…do you think the bad man got him too?"

Hiroko shook her head. "No way! Daddy is super strong! There's no way he'd ever get killed! I bet he's just fine and that he's looking for us right now…" Hiroko lowered her head as her lower lip trembled. "I miss them…I miss Mommy and Daddy…"

Naoko rested her head against Hiroko's as she began crying as well. "It's okay; we're still together."

"Yeah…" Hiroko lightly tapped the side of her head to Naoko's before hugging her twin tightly. "As long as we're together, we don't have to be scared of anything. I'll protect you."

"And I'll protect you." Naoko added. "As long as we're together, we'll be okay."


	6. Mr FBI Agent Sir

**Sakura02: No, silly. Watari had just seen them with Soichiro earlier. He didn't realize until after he had asked that they were the girls with the dead mommy.**

**Thanks: sakura2112, Usagi323, NijiNoNeko, Nalondria or Johnquelle, Sabaku no Kaeti, and gaaraofthefunk13 for reviewing!**

* * *

Naoko rolled her eyes as Hiroko rolled around on her pallet. "Would you stop that? I need to make my bed."

Hiroko sighed dreamily. "Naoko, do you think we'll ever get to talk to L again? He sounded so cool on the computer."

"You know that wasn't his real voice." Naoko sighed as she rolled her sister off her pallet and on to her own. She took her time pulling the sheets up. She looked up and sighed when she saw the puppy eyes Hiroko was giving her. "Move and I'll make your bed too."

"You're the best, Naoko." Hiroko grinned. She blinked as Light suddenly came into the room, all smiles.

"Good morning, girls." Light said brightly. "How would you two like to go to Space Land today?" He chuckled at the way both girls' eyes lit up. "I'll take that as a yes. Hurry up and get ready."

"Space Land. Space Land. We're going to Space Land." Hiroko sang as she got dressed.

Naoko smiled along with her sister. The girls had always wanted to go but their family had never had quite enough money. "Light-san sure is nice to take us with him."

Light smiled as the two girls hopped down the stairs wearing matching plaid dresses. He helped them into their jackets and to put on their gloves. "We're going to be meeting a friend of mine there."

Hiroko puffed her cheeks out. "I thought it was just going to be the three of us." She whined.

"Don't worry." Light laughed as he took the both the girls' hands. "She's nowhere near as important to me as you two are. Or as pretty."

Naoko smiled as Light squeezed her hand reassuringly. A chill went down her spine and she looked directly up. She frowned when she saw nothing was there. She looked behind her and swore she saw someone dart behind a building. "Light-san…"

Light squeezed her hand again and smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry, Naoko. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Hiroko frowned once they reached the bus stop and saw the pretty girl waiting for Light. "We're way prettier than her." Hiroko huffed out. "Who wears a short skirt like that when it's cold? She looks like an idiot."

"Hiroko, be nice." Naoko scolded. "She might be a really nice person."

Light smiled and waved at the girl. "Sorry I'm late. It took Hiroko and Naoko a little longer than planned to get ready."

The girl smiled brightly and leaned down in front of the girls. "You must be Hiroko and Naoko. Light always talks about the two of you at school. You're so much cuter in person."

Naoko giggled at the way Hiroko puffed her chest out. "Are you Light-san's girlfriend?"

The girl giggled as she took both Hiroko and Naoko's hands and led them onto the bus with Light right behind them. "Oh no. We're just friends."

Neither twin missed the way the girl looked longingly at Light, though. The bus was fairly empty as the little group got on the bus. They sat towards the back with Hiroko sitting in the girl's lap and Naoko in Light's. Hiroko and Naoko were so busy talking excitedly to the girl, they didn't notice the man that slipped on and sat behind them. They did, however, notice the strange man that entered the bus at the next stop.

Naoko tugged on Light's jacket. "Light-san, I don't like that man."

Before Light could say anything, the man pulled a gun out of his jacket and pointed it at the bus driver's head. "I'm hijacking this bus!"

Hiroko buried her face in the girl's jacket and held Naoko's hand tightly. "Light, I'm scared." She whimpered out as the man began waving the gun around and yelling.

"Are we going to die, Light-san?" Naoko sniffled out, tears standing at the corner of her eyes. Her voice was muffled by Light's jacket.

Light hugged Naoko tightly and reached out to give Hiroko's shoulder a squeeze. "It'll be okay, girls. Just stay quiet." He scribbled a note down quickly on a piece of paper and held it up so the girl could see.

Hiroko's eyes widened as she read the note. "What if you get hurt, Light?"

"That's too dangerous." The man sitting behind them said softly as he leaned forward. "Let me handle this."

Naoko frowned thoughtfully as she looked at the man. There was something familiar about him. She swore she had seen him somewhere before. When she looked over at Hiroko, she saw her twin was thinking the same thing.

"You don't have to write on the paper." The man whispered as Light began scribbling another note down. "He can't hear us over the sound of the bus."

Light crumbled the piece of paper up and slipped it into his jacket pocket. "Excuse me, but, you aren't Japanese, are you? I can tell from your accent."

The man nodded. "I'm Japanese American."

Hiroko turned around and poked her head over the seat. "Really? That's cool. I've always wanted to go to America."

"Not now, Hiroko." Light said quietly as he pushed Hiroko back down in her seat. He frowned when he noticed how thoughtfully Naoko was looking at the man. "Is there anyway you can prove that you're not the hijacker's partner?"

"Light-san, I don't think he's a bad person." Naoko said softly as she continued to stare at the man. "I just have a feeling…" She trailed off when she saw Light looking at her.

"It's better to be safe than sorry, though." Light said firmly. He blinked as the man handed him a badge.

Naoko wasn't sure what the man's badge said but she saw how wide Light's eyes got. "Is he a bad person, Light-san?"

Light quickly shook his head and handed the badge back to the man. "What's the FBI doing here in Japan?"

The man stuffed his badge back in his jacket. "That's nothing for you to worry about."

"Wow, so, you're like, a spy?" Hiroko asked excitedly, turning back around. "Are you like James Bond? My Mommy and Daddy always liked watching James Bond movies. My Mommy's sister sent them to us all the time."

"Hiroko, stay seated." Light said firmly, once again forcing Hiroko to turn back around. He frowned as the paper in his pocket slipped out. "Crap…"

"Hey!" The hijacker yelled as he walked back, waving the gun. "What's on that paper? You guys passing notes?" He glared at the group as he bent down and picked the paper up.

Naoko gulped and snuggled closer to Light. That was the note he had written on about attacking the guy. They were going to get shot, she just knew it. She buried her face in Light's jacket. "Light-san…"

"How stupid." The man scoffed. "It's just a date note." He threw the piece of paper back at Light and marched back towards the front of the bus. "If any of you make anymore sudden movements, I'll kill you all…" His voice trailed off as he looked towards the back of the bus.

Hiroko blinked and looked back at the back of the bus. The only person back there was the FBI agent. She most certainly didn't think he was scary enough to warrant the shriek the man let out. "What's wrong with him?" She screamed herself as the man began waving the gun around, screaming about how he was going to shoot the monster.

"He's hallucinating!" The FBI agent said. "Everyone, get down!"

Naoko began crying as Light pushed both girls down into the floorboard between his and the girl's legs. She held Hiroko's hand tightly as the man shot off multiple rounds, all the while screaming about a monster. "Hiroko, I'm scared!"

Hiroko was crying as well as she hugged her sister. "It's okay! Mr. FBI Agent Sir will get him! Don't be scared!" She peeked up in time to see the FBI agent run off after the hijacker as he rushed off the bus.

The girls were about to get up off the floorboard when they heard a car horn, the screech of tires, and then a loud 'thunk'. When Naoko attempted to peer out the window to see what had happened, Light pushed her back down and shook his head.

"Trust me, you don't want to see this, Naoko." Light said softly as he smoothed the frazzled child's hair down. "Are you three okay?" When all three girls nodded, he smiled. "Good. You three stay put. I'll be right back."

Hiroko looked dubiously at Light before grabbing Naoko's hand and tugging her off after Light. The two girls got to the entrance of the bus just in time to see the FBI agent rushing off. "Hey, wait!" Hiroko yelled as she chased after the man with Naoko close on her heels.

The FBI agent paused. "I have to leave quickly. It'll be troublesome if I'm still here when the police get here."

Hiroko panted as she stopped in front of him. "Thanks for saving us! You were super awesome! When I grow up, I wanna be a cop just like Soichiro and you! What's your name anyways?"

The man blinked before smiling and kneeling in front of the girls. "I'm Raye Penbar."

Hiroko grinned. "I'm Tendou Hiroko and this is my sister, Naoko."

Raye stared at the two girls for a moment. "Those names sound very familiar." He muttered to himself. He straightened up and ruffled the two girls hair. "Try and stay out of trouble!" He called as he rushed off.

Naoko frowned as she looked after him. "I swear I've heard his name somewhere."

"You too?" Hiroko grinned. "I wonder if we've met him before."

"That's impossible. We've never been to America before." Naoko argued.

"Yeah." Hiroko agreed as Light ran up to the two girls.


	7. Meeting L

**Sakura02: Yeah :( Poor Raye…**

**Thanks: Usagi323, Kenta Jun, gaaraofthefunk13, NijiNoNeko, Sabaku no Kaeti, and VampireHuntress72095 for reviewing!**

* * *

"Hey, Naoko," Hiroko called softly to her twin whom was laying next to her in the backyard. The two were staring up at the slowly darkening sky, waiting for dinner to be ready. "My chest has been hurting lately."

"Mine too." Naoko said. "It's been hurting real bad since yesterday."

"Maybe we're sick." Hiroko said as she finally looked at her sister. "Maybe we should go to the doctor."

Naoko shook her head as she stood up. "Mommy always told us the pain would go away, remember? She said the pain was a warning..."

Hiroko slowly sat up as well. "Oh yeah…I wonder what it's warning us about." Hiroko poked her chest as though the answers would be revealed that way.

The two looked up as Sachiko called them in. Hiroko pouted when they entered and she saw there was no food on the table. "What's wrong?" She asked as she and Naoko sat between Sayu and Light at the table with Sachiko and Soichiro on the other side.

Soichiro stared down at the table for a moment. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just come right out with it; I am currently the head of the Kira case."

"Wow!" Sayu and Hiroko exclaimed together. "You're so cool, Soichiro!" Hiroko grinned.

"This is no joking matter, girls." Soichiro said firmly. "Yesterday, twelve FBI agents were killed, most likely by Kira. It seems whoever chases after Kira is at risk of losing their lives."

Naoko pinched Hiroko's hand to stop her twin from exclaiming about Raye. The twins looked at each other, wondering if his death was what had caused the pain in their chest to go from a dull throb to a burning pain. There had been a heaviness in the twins' hearts ever since Kira had appeared. The pain seemed amplified by the death of someone they had actually met.

Soichiro, not noticing the strange looks that past between the twins continued. "One by one, my men are resigning due to the dangers this case entails. Seeing as how dangerous it is, I couldn't find any reason to force them to stay."

"Then you should leave too, Dad!" Sayu shouted, holding her hands out pleadingly to her father.

"Yeah!" Hiroko piped up. "We don't wanna lose you to a bad person too like we lost Mommy and Daddy!"

Naoko nodded her head in agreement.

Soichiro smiled at the worried faces of his wife, his daughter, and the two girls he considered to be his own. "I'm afraid I can't give up. I will not back away from this crime."

Light nodded his head as he stood up from the table. He patted both Naoko and Hiroko on the head. "I support you, Dad. We should all support him." He looked at the twins with a reassuring smile before heading towards the stairs. "If anything happens to you, Dad, I'll avenge you."

Naoko frowned as she swore she saw something shimmering behind Light.

* * *

"Girls!" Sachiko called urgently as she bustled around the house doing New Year's cleaning. As soon as the twins had scrambled down the stairs, Sachiko paused in her vacuuming. "Could the two of you run to the store and buy some groceries for dinner? Light's busy studying and Sayu's helping me clean the house. You can each get one candy." She looked pointedly at Hiroko before handing the money and list over to Naoko.

"Naoko, are we there yet?" Hiroko whined as the two girls hopped off the bus and into one of the busier parts of downtown. Hiroko clutched her twin's mitten covered hand tightly in her own so they wouldn't get separated by the bustling crowds.

Naoko frowned as she looked around. "Um, no. I think we got off at the wrong stop…"

"We're lost!" Hiroko wailed as she threw herself onto Naoko. "We're going to die! We'll be eaten alive by cannibals!"

"You've been watching too much television." Naoko muttered. She blinked as she saw a familiar person walking down the street. "Hey, it's Soichiro. Soichiro!" She yelled, hoping to catch the cop's attention. She frowned as Soichiro continued walking with another cop.

"Let's follow him." Hiroko said and before Naoko could protest, began dragging her twin through the bustling crowd. The two tried to catch up with Soichiro and catch his attention but whether it was the noise of the crowd or how far they were from him, he simply kept walking. The twins paused outside a large hotel and watched as Soichiro got into an elevator.

"Maybe we should just go back to the bus stop." Naoko sighed as her twin ignored her and dragged her through the hotel doors. The twins stood in front of the elevator and watched the floor number light up as the elevator stopped. "Hiroko, we shouldn't follow him." Naoko protested as Hiroko pushed the elevator button and another elevator dinged open.

"It's okay." Hiroko reassured her twin though she wouldn't give her a reason why. She pushed the button to take them to the same floor as Soichiro. The two got off the elevator just in time to see Soichiro and the other cop go into a room a little ways down the hall. "It'll be a surprise for him." Hiroko grinned as the two went to the door.

There were muffled voices coming from the other side of the door. Naoko was about to attempt to pull Hiroko back towards the elevator when Hiroko tugged on the door handle and grinned triumphantly as the door swung open.

"Hi, Soichiro!" Hiroko squealed as she attached herself to the shocked police officer, ignoring the shocked stares of everyone else in the room.

"I'm so sorry!" Naoko bowed low to Soichiro. As she lifted her head up, she looked into the surprised faces of four police officers that she didn't recognize and then…the man standing before the officers. Her eyes widened as she took in the messy black hair, the baggy white shirt and jeans, the black eyes with dark circles underneath them… "It's him!" She screamed and scrambled to the far wall beside the door.

Hiroko looked up from hugging Soichiro and stiffened as well. Unlike Naoko, however, she let out a shout of rage and rushed forward, slamming her tiny fist into the man's stomach repeatedly. "What are you trying to do to Soichiro? Are you gonna kill him like you did our Mommy and Daddy?"

Soichiro looked at both girls whom were sobbing. He went over to Naoko first, prying the little girl from the wall and holding her in one arm before going to Hiroko and holding her in his other arm. He frowned as the two girls clung to him and sobbed. "Girls, what on earth is wrong?"

"It's him!" Hiroko wailed. "It's the bad man! The one that killed Mommy! It's him!"

"I assure you," the man said as he rubbed his tender stomach. "I didn't kill your mother nor your father. You're voice is even more loud in person than over the computer."

Hiroko blinked the tears from her eyes as did Naoko. Hiroko wriggled out of Soichiro's grasp and cautiously approached the strange man. Ignoring the incredulous stares from everyone present, Hiroko reached up and yanked on the man's shirt until he knelt down. She motioned her sister over before holding the man's face between her hands. She glanced at Naoko as her twin came to her side. "What do you think?"

Naoko stared at the man. Now that she had calmed down from the initial shock of his appearance, she took in more of his features. There weren't many differences between the man before her and the man that had killed her mother. "Well, his voice sounds a little different." She said slowly.

The man raised an eyebrow as Hiroko stared intently at his eyes. "Can I assist you with something?"

"His eyes aren't red." Hiroko finally said, seemingly satisfied. "It's not him. Are you the bad man's twin? You said that I sounded more loud in person than on the computer. So that means…" Hiroko's eyes widened in realization. "You're…"

The man pulled himself away from Hiroko's hands and straightened up. "I have no siblings. And yes, Tendou Hiroko, I am L." He winced as the little girl squealed and began dancing around him.

"Oh my gosh, Naoko, it's L!" Hiroko grabbed her sister's hands and spun her around. "We found him!" She blinked as Soichiro grabbed her and Naoko by their collars and dragged them away from the clearly annoyed L.

"I'm so sorry, L. I didn't realize they were following me. Girls, go home now. Don't say anything to Sachiko or anyone else, understand?" Soichiro gave both girls a stern look that promised punishment later.

"No." L said, ignoring the surprised looks on everyone's faces. "I cannot permit these girls to leave now. They've seen my face. I know I can trust the five of you to not say anything. Children are another story entirely. I'm afraid they will have to remain here now."

"You can't do that!" Hiroko stomped her foot impatiently. "We have rights!"

Soichiro was silent for a moment. "They'll be safe here, won't they?" Soichiro saw the shocked and hurt faces on both Naoko and Hiroko's faces. He knelt down to their level. "Listen to me, girls. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to scare you, but, lately, I've worried that someone is watching the house. It could be the man that killed your mother. Now, all those known to be chasing Kira are in danger. If Kira ever found out I was after him and you two got hurt…you'll be safer here with L."

"What about Sayu and Sachiko and Light?" Hiroko asked.

"They'll be all right." Soichiro said firmly. "Trust me, girls. I just have a feeling the three of them will be all right."

Naoko chewed on her lip thoughtfully for a moment before nodding her head. Hiroko held her twin's hand tightly and nodded as well.

"Now that that's all settled, let's move into here and talk." L motioned to the main room of the hotel. "Please turn off all your cell phones and other electronics and leave them on the table."

The twins stayed close to Soichiro as the other officers grudgingly complied. Hiroko blinked as the youngest looking one knelt down and grinned at them. "Hey, girls, remember me?"

Hiroko grinned at him while Naoko gave him a tentative smile. "Matsuda!"

Naoko recognized the other officers that were present. She had met Aizawa, Mogi, and Ukita when they're mother had died and they had gone to the headquarters. The twins followed the group into living area where L was already sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest. Naoko blinked as her twin released her hand and went over to L.

L glanced dubiously down at the small child staring up at him before turning his attention back to the now seated officers. "Don't write anything down that we discuss. Keep it in your head. Also, don't call me L anymore. Call me Ryuzaki…can I help you?" He ground out as Hiroko continued to stand by his chair and stare at him.

Soichiro thought he would have a heart attack as Hiroko lightly shoved L to make room for herself on the chair beside the genius detective. He sighed as Hiroko sat in the same position as L.

Matsuda and the others weren't sure whether to laugh or be terrified for the girl's safety as L glared down at the grinning child. "Um, I just had a thought." Matsuda said, hoping to draw L's attention away from the small girl. "Why don't we just tell the media to omit names and faces from crime coverage? That would limit the number of victims."

Before L could say anything, Hiroko piped up. "You guys are going after Kira? That's so cool! How are you gonna beat…" she was cut off as a sugar cube was shoved into her mouth.

"Be silent." L said.

Naoko couldn't help but to giggle as her sister happily sucked on the sugar cube. "Matsuda-san's idea sounds good." She noticed how Matsuda seemed to swell at her compliment.

L sighed as he stirred a cup of tea in front of him. "That would lead to ordinary people dying."

"Y's 'at?" Hiroko asked around her sugar cube.

L rolled his eyes and shoved another sugar cube in Hiroko's mouth. "Kira is childish and hates losing. I know this because I'm childish and hate losing too."

"So, you're like Hiroko?" Naoko scooted closer to Soichiro as L's eyes cut over to her and he held a sugar cube up threateningly.

Soichiro cleared his throat. "Could you please explain that more clearly?"

L launched into an explanation of his thought process starting from when he challenged Kira on the television to deaths of the FBI agents. "Every time you challenge him, he sends out a challenge of his own. He can't stand the thought of losing. If we try and restrict the media to shield criminals, he'll take the whole world hostage and his thought process will be that it's not his fault because those that shield criminals from him are evil themselves. What we really need to hide, instead of criminals, is how few of us there are actually hunting him."

"How?" Naoko asked, daring to peek out from around Soichiro's arm. Luckily, L was deep and thought and didn't seem to here her question.

"Hmm, we could say...that the US is outraged at the death of its 12 FBI agents as is the world so the G8 Nations have agreed to send 1,500 investigators to Japan. Kira will begin to see enemies everywhere." He blinked as he felt eyes on him. He frowned down at Hiroko, prepared to shove another sugar cube in her mouth. "Yes?"

"You're so cool!" Hiroko squealed as she hugged L around his waist. "You're the smartest person ever, L…eh…Ryuzaki!"

Naoko zoned out as L explained his reasoning for believing that Kira was working alone. The dull ache in her chest was starting to hurt again. Something bad was going to happen soon. She could feel it. A flash of a woman with long black hair wearing all black walking through the snow flashed through her mind. The woman looked so familiar to her. She looked at Hiroko and saw her eyes were slightly glazed as though she were seeing something far away. When Hiroko snapped out of her stupor, she looked over at Naoko, clearly worried.

"I will win this contest." L said, snapping the two girls out of their thoughts. "Let's all show Kira that the good guys always win."

"Ryuzaki, you look so cute when you smile." Hiroko resumed snuggling the super detective.

"Not you." Snapped L, trying to pry the child off of him. "You won't be taking any part in this case. You're just stuck here because you're too nosy for your own good." L finally managed to dislodged himself from Hiroko and stand up. "I'll need to speak to each of you individually, including you two." L said pointedly. "Just to ensure that Kira is not among you."

Soichiro slumped in his seat as he looked at the two girls. "I'll have to think of something to tell Sachiko. Light and Sayu will be sad that you two aren't there anymore."

Naoko's heart clenched at the mention of Light's name. She hadn't thought about Light this whole time. She may never see him again; at least, not until the case was over. Her lower lip trembled as she tried to keep her tears at bay.

Hiroko was at her twin's side in an instant. "Don't worry. We'll see Light and the others soon. Besides, we can always sneak out to see them." She yelped as a sugar cube hit her in the head.

"No sneaking out." L said as he motioned for Soichiro to follow him into the other room.

Naoko couldn't help but to laugh as her sister began shouting angrily at L's retreating back.


	8. Auntie

**I'm so sorry I haven't updated the past few weeks. August is a rather crazy month for me with school starting, both Texas State and my school that I work at. On top of that, my sister and my wonderful cousin (who is like the big sister I never got) have their birthdays in August and it was my parents 25****th**** anniversary and I planned a surprise party for them. Updates should be more scheduled now but keep in mind that I do have a full course load which means lots of reading and studying so their may be some weeks where I don't update. Thank you for understanding!**

**Sakura02: I'm sure they'll eventually send someone else out for food. They're not as dumb as Matsuda**

**Thank you: SageofAges729, Sabaku no Kaeti, SaiyukiSucker, Usagi323, VampireHuntress72095, and gaaraofthefunk13 for reviewing!**

* * *

"Hiroko, don't do that." Naoko whispered urgently to her twin. She looked frantically around and saw that none of the others were paying attention as they were all waiting nervously to hear L's conclusions from their interrogations. She sighed as Hiroko giggled and hid behind the curtains.

Hiroko poked her head out from behind the curtains and grinned, holding her finger to her lips. She quickly ducked back behind them when L reentered the room with Matsuda.

L raised an eyebrow at how Naoko sat ramrod straight on the couch, staring straight ahead. He glanced around for the troublemaking one and had to refrain from rolling his eyes when he saw Hiroko's feet poking out from under the curtains. He sighed and walked slowly over to window. "I'm very sorry interrogating all of you. However, I can now safely say..." He suddenly yanked the curtain open and picked Hiroko up by her collar. He glared at her pouting face before dropping her onto the couch beside an apologetic looking Naoko. "…that Kira is not among you."

Soichiro leaned forward, placing an arm across Hiroko's chest to prevent her from getting up and causing more trouble. "How can you be sure? You didn't even interview the girls."

"I don't feel it is necessary to question the girls." L said simply, looking pointedly at Hiroko as he continued. "I don't think they have the…capability of being Kira."

Hiroko blinked before narrowing her eyes at L. "I feel like I should be insulted."

L ignored her and turned his attention back to the Task Force. "I had prepared a test for all of you to see if any of you were Kira but I didn't feel the need to use it." He blinked as his phone suddenly rang.

"Hey, you made everyone else turn their phones off!" Hiroko protested. "You're being a…a…"

"A hypocrite?" Naoko offered, shrinking back when L cut his eyes over to her.

L listened to the person on the other end before nodding his head. "We've just finished up in here. Use your own key and let yourself in." As he hung up, he looked back at the group. "Watari is here."

Hiroko's eyes lit up. "Do we get to see what Watari really looks like? Is he like James Bond? That would be so cool if he was." She ducked her head as a sugar cube was thrown at her. She stuck her tongue out at L. "You'll have to do better than that."

"How about I stuff you in a closet for a week and see how much of a smart aleck you are." L glared at the mocking child and nearly smirked at the terrified look on her face.

"I think that's illegal L…I mean-Ryuzaki-san." Naoko interjected, fearing for her twin's safety. She pinched Hiroko's arm to stop her sister from saying anything else to irritate the genius detective.

Everyone fell silent as they heard the door being opened. An older man came in, taking his hat off and bowing to the group. "I am Watari. It is a pleasure to see all of you again…" He blinked as he suddenly had Hiroko and Naoko hugging him. He smiled down at the two girls and patted their heads. "It's wonderful to see the two of you again. I see you've been causing some trouble."

Naoko smiled sheepishly up at Watari. "We'll be staying with you and Ryuzaki-san from now on." She missed the look Watari sent L, an almost reprimanding one.

"What of their education, Ryuzaki?" Watari asked.

"My wife was home schooling them." Soichiro said.

L nodded his head thoughtfully as he sipped at his tea. "Then you will continue their education, Watari. It will keep them busy and out of my hair. Did you bring them?"

Watari nodded, dislodging himself from the two girls and patting their heads one more time before approaching L's side. He opened a suitcase which contained enough belts for the Task Force as well as fake police badges. "These will be your new IDs." Watari said as he handed the badges out to the Task Force.

Soichiro frowned thoughtfully as he looked at his. "Fake names and fake ranks…"

"I don't know how I feel about cops using fake IDs." Ukita muttered.

L groaned as Hiroko once again shoved him over so she could sit beside him on the chair. "Didn't I just get rid of you?"

Naoko couldn't help giggling as Hiroko ignored L and sat in the same manner as him. She looked at Ukita who was still frowning at his badge. "That might save your life, Ukita-san. If Kira needs a name and a face, the fake badge will prevent him from having your name even if he knows your face."

Aizawa smiled and nodded his head. "She's right. This is for the best."

L glanced over at Naoko and gave her a brief nod of approval. He leaned to the side and squished Hiroko into the side, smirking in triumph when she squeaked. "Please be sure not to pull your fake IDs out in the police station. Naoko, Hiroko, when, for whatever reason, you go out into public, you will no longer introduce yourselves as Tendou. You are now Shinkon."

Hiroko's eyes lit up. "That's such a cool name! Shinkon Hiroko…"

"We also have these…" L motioned to the case Watari was holding.

Watari pulled out a few simple looking belts that he handed to each of the Task Force. He also had two simple silver chain bracelets with a silver plate with both Naoko and Hiroko's names on them. He assisted the twins in putting on their bracelets. "Please wear your belts…and bracelets…at all times. There is a transmitter embedded inside the belt buckle that will allow Ryuzaki to know where you are at all times. Also, if you push the buckle twice, my cellphone will ring and I will call you back right away. This will be used to inform all of you of the new hotel and can be used in emergencies. The same applies to your bracelet, Girls."

Hiroko frowned as she looked at the Task Force's belts and at her I.D. bracelet. "Why do they get belts?"

L glanced down at her. "I was worried that if we gave you a belt, you wouldn't be able to take it off in time and I don't want to deal with you having an accident."

"I'm not five!" Hiroko shoved against L's side, smirking as he grunted. She hopped off the chair as L talked with Task Force about having someone always at the Task Force office and Aizawa volunteered. She walked over to Naoko and hugged her sister tightly before kissing her cheek. "Are you okay?"

Naoko gave a brief smile and hugged and kissed her sister back. "Yeah. I just miss Light…" She gasped as her heart suddenly clenched painfully. A flash of a woman dressed all in black with long black hair went through her mind. She recognized the woman…

L glanced up at the girls, noticing the matching looks of worry on their faces. "What's wrong?"

Hiroko quickly plastered a bright smile on her face. "Nothing!"

* * *

"And then…Hiroko, Naoko, please pay attention." Watari sighed as he snapped his fingers to grab the girls' attention. "I know that the investigation is more interesting than school work but you must focus."

Naoko tore her eyes from the couch where L was watching videos of Raye's death with Soichiro, Matsuda, and Aizawa. She gave Watari a small smile. "Sorry, Watari-san."

Watari smiled and patted both the girls' on the head. He blinked as his phone suddenly went off. "Hello? Yes…Please hold on." Watari turned his attention to L. "Ukita-san at the other office has someone on the line with some interesting information."

L leaned against the back of couch. "Tell him the number for line five and have the person call back at that number. Matsuda-san, please turn your cellphone on."

Hiroko couldn't help but to giggle at the irritated look on Matsuda's face when L swiped his cellphone. She put her pencil down and listened intently as L talked to the person on the other line in a nasally voice. She noticed Naoko was listening as well and Watari didn't seem too bothered that they weren't working at the moment.

"Raye Penebar's fiancée?" L said, clearly alarmed. "What's her name? Naomi Misora? I've heard that name before…" He glanced over at Watari whom was already typing the name into a search. He also noticed the alarmed looks on the girls' faces. After her hung up with the woman, he looked thoughtfully at the girls. "What's wrong? Do you know Naomi Misora?"

Naoko nodded numbly. "What's wrong with her? Is she okay?"

"It seems she has gone missing." L said. He frowned at the clearly upset looks on the two girls' faces. "What's wrong? Naoko, Hiroko," He knelt down in front of the twins and placed a hand on either of their shoulders. "How do you know Naomi Misora?"

Naoko looked at Hiroko, unsure of whether she should say anything. She didn't even know if they should still stay silent about having met Raye on the bus right before he died. After Hiroko nodded her head, Naoko turned her attention back to L. "She's our aunt."

* * *

**I know it's a little short. It's only the start of the second week of school and I have a ton of reading and homework to do. Please review and let me know your thoughts!**


	9. Cameras

**Sakura02: They're trying to be optimistic! You wouldn't want Hiroko and Naoko to get all upset because someone important to them died, would you? :P**

**Jouhnquelle: Not quite, but you are getting closer :) They do have supernatural abilities which will become more prominent as the story goes on.**

**Usagi323: He doesn't, but I do think he also realizes that if the girls are lying to him, that it's going to take some careful questioning to get them to reveal the truth :)**

**m.: Sadly, I don't know how to draw :( **

**Thank you: NijiNoNeko, Sabaku no Kaeti, gaaraofthefunk13, VampireHuntress72095, and I don't do cute for your reviews!**

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"Kira killed Aunt Misora!" Hiroko wailed, tears falling down her cheeks. The vision from two days ago made sense now. She continued crying even as a sobbing Naoko hugged her tightly.

Matsuda knelt in front of the two girls, trying to smile reassuringly. "We don't know that yet, girls. Maybe she's just in hiding right now."

"No!" Hiroko shouted. "She's dead! Kira killed her!"

Soichiro frowned, kneeling beside the girls as well. "Why didn't your mother mention Misora?"

Naoko sniffled, trying to wipe her tears away. "Mommy's family hates us. They don't ever talk to us. Only Aunt Misora ever talks to us. Mommy didn't want to tell Aunt Misora about the bad man. She said it would upset her. I want my Aunt Misora…" Naoko's crying renewed along with Hiroko's.

L raised an eyebrow at Soichiro. "If they have living relatives, why are they not with their family?"

Soichiro sighed as he picked Naoko up while Aizawa picked Hiroko up. "We tried. It's as Naoko says, though. They're family wants nothing to do with them and we were concerned for the girls' safety if they were left with them."

L nodded thoughtfully, mulling over the new information. "Misora disappeared the day after her fiancé disappeared…"

"Well, anyone would be upset if their fiancé died." Matsuda said, looking warily at the twins that were still crying. He wasn't quite sure how to deal with kids.

"You don't think she killed herself, do you?" Aizawa winced as Hiroko punched him in the arm.

"Aunt Misora would never do that!" Hiroko protested. "She's Superwoman!"

Naoko nodded her agreement. "Aunt Misora's really strong and stubborn like Mommy. She would never kill herself."

L nodded approvingly at the girls. "They're right. I once worked a case with Misora. The Misora I know would never do something like kill herself. She'd go after Kira for the death of her fiancé." L continued muttering to himself, slowly piecing information from the past few days together. He finally looked up, determination in his eyes. "We're going to narrow our search to the people Raye Penbar was observing prior to December 19."

Hiroko's eyes widened. "You think Kira was one of the people Raye was watching?" She glanced over at Naoko in alarm.

Naoko shook her head quickly. There was no possible way Light was Kira. He was far too kind to be someone as cruel as Kira. She silently pleaded with her sister not to say anything. If they did, L would suspect Light of a crime he couldn't possibly commit.

Hiroko nodded, relief flooding her face. There had been a silent suspicion in the back of her mind that had been hissing that Light could be Kira. She couldn't picture it, though. She couldn't picture Light, who always played Candy Land with the twins, could possibly kill people.

"It's a good possibility." L said, not noticing the silent exchange between the two girls. "We can't call them in for questioning, though. It would be too dangerous if Kira is indeed among them…" He paused, knowing what he was about to say next would greatly upset the Task Force. "We will focus on the two families. Raye Penbar said there was no grounds for suspicion for any of them, but given the circumstances, we will place secret cameras and listening devices in both homes."

Naoko was the one that broke the stunned silence. "Ryuzaki-san, that's illegal."

"She's right!" Aizawa shouted. "If this got out, there'd be a huge scandal! We'd all lose our jobs!"

L leveled Aizawa with a stare. "So, you're willing to risk your lives for this case, but not your jobs?"

Soichiro stepped forward, finally putting Naoko on the ground. "Who were the two families?"

Matsuda rifled through some papers before finally pulling out two reports. "Let's see…Deputy Director General Kitamura and…" Matsuda gasped. "Detective Superintendent Yagami."

Naoko flinched at the shocked look on Soichiro's face. She reached out and held his hand, trying to comfort the poor man.

Hiroko hopped out of Aizawa's arms and mimicked Naoko's actions. "Soichiro, are you okay?"

Soichiro remained completely still. After a moment, he collected himself. "Ryuzaki, what is the likelihood of Kira being in one of those families?"

L thought for a moment. "Ten…no, five percent."

Hiroko frowned. "That's really low! That's no reason to put cameras in Soichiro's and that other guys house!"

Naoko nodded her agreement. "I don't think it's a good idea at all."

Soichiro withdrew his hands from the girls' and smiled down at them. He patted both on their heads. "You girls are very sweet to be worried. However, our investigation hasn't turned up anything resembling a suspect so far. Even one percent would be enough to warrant scrutiny."

"Girls," Watari stepped forward when he saw Ryuzaki glance over at him. "why don't we go into the other room and continue your studies?"

The twins frowned but reluctantly followed Watari to the other room. They could still hear the raised voices of the Task Force even with the door closed. "I don't like it." Hiroko huffed. "It's wrong to spy on people."

Watari sighed. "You must understand, Hiroko, Ryuzaki wants nothing more than to capture Kira. His methods may be…unorthodox but he has the best of intentions."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Hiroko muttered, but let the subject drop.

"I'll be right back." Watari said when he heard Ryuzaki call for him. "Stay here and do your work."

Naoko stared blankly down at the workbook in front of her. Now that they were alone, the realization that the last person in their family that had actually loved them was dead hit them both like a ton of bricks. Naoko felt tears once again prick the corners of her eyes. "Kira killed her…" Naoko whispered.

Hiroko nodded, tears already rolling down her cheeks. She leaned over and hugged Naoko. "Don't worry; I won't leave you. No matter what, we'll stay together."

Naoko nodded her head and hugged Hiroko back. "I want to help Ryuzaki." Naoko said softly. "I want to help him catch Kira."

"What can we do?" Hiroko asked. Her eyes widened when Naoko gave her a serious look. "Mommy said we aren't allowed to do that. She said we'd get in a lot of trouble if we did."

"But it could help us find Kira." Naoko argued. She sighed at the worried look on Hiroko's face. "We'll let the grown ups investigate for a while. If they can't find anything, then we'll do it, okay?"

Hiroko nodded her head slowly. "Do you think the bad man is Kira?"

Before Naoko could answer, L came into the room. He stared at the seemingly innocent girls for a moment before sitting between them. He almost smirked at the startled look on the two girls' faces. "I'm very sorry about your aunt. She was an amazing woman and investigator."

Naoko smiled up at L. "We know. She told us about how she caught the bad man one time."

L raised an eyebrow. "The bad man?"

Hiroko nodded enthusiastically, her eyes lit up with excitement. "Yeah! She caught him in America."

L frowned. He was about to question the girls further when Watari entered the room.

"We're ready to begin whenever you are, Ryuzaki." Watari said before disappearing again.

L stood up, frowning down at the girls. "Keep studying." He muttered as he shuffled out of the room. He would have to question the girls' later about the bad man.


	10. Secret

**October is always a rather hectic month for me. There's Halloween to prepare for, midterms, registering for classes for the spring, and for some reason a plethora of babysitting jobs. I'm trying to get back on track so hopefully updates will be a bit more regular.**

**Sakura: Well, the girls may think they're helping, but I'm sure to L they'll just be causing him trouble and a headache.**

**Thanks: yvonna, NijiNoNeko, Sabaku no Kaeti, VampireHuntress72095, Usagi323, , gaaraofthefunk13, Diehard243, xXChild of DestinyXx, Princesa de la Luna, and Ria- The Ninja of Time for reviewing!**

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"Why's Light looking at those naked girls?" Hiroko asked, poking her head over the edge of the couch that L and Soichiro occupied.

"G-Girls!" Soichiro nearly jumped out of his skin as Naoko sheepishly came around the side of the couch. "You two should be studying. What are you doing out here?"

Hiroko flipped over the back of the couch and wedged herself between L and Soichiro. "We're tired of just studying! We want to go outside and play. It's boring having to stay in here all the time. Right, Naoko?"

Naoko nodded her head, standing nervously beside Soichiro. "Can't we go outside for just a bit, Ryuzaki-san?"

"That's out of the question." L answered, his eyes never leaving the screen, though he did shove Hiroko with his elbow when the child got to close to him. "Girls, did you ever notice any strange behavior when you were living with the Yagami's?"

"Nope." Hiroko piped up. "They're all very nice and would never hurt anyone!"

"There you two are." Watari walked briskly into the room. "I'm sorry, Ryuzaki. Girls, come with me."

Hiroko sighed and reluctantly slid off the couch, obediently following the old man. Naoko gave Soichiro a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Everything will be okay, Soichiro-san." She said before rushing after her twin.

As soon as she entered the room, Naoko knew something was wrong. Hiroko was sitting tensely on the couch while Watari sat in his usual chair, a large manila folder on the table in front of him. Cautiously, Naoko went over to the couch and sat by Hiroko. "What's wrong, Watari-san?"

Watari sighed. "Girls, Ryuzaki requested that I retrieve your files from your previous schools since Soichiro refused. You two have gone to quite a few schools." He said as he opened the folder.

"That's because all those kids were really mean!" Hiroko protested. "We didn't do anything wrong!"

"You are not in trouble, Hiroko, Naoko." Watari assured, seeing the panicked looks on the twin's faces. "I am merely curious how when you were five, Naoko, you managed to throw an eight year old boy up into a tree."

"I didn't touch him." Naoko said softly. "He was being mean to me. He pushed me and kept calling me a freak. I got upset and blacked out for a few minutes. When I woke up, he was up in the tree screaming."

"You aren't going to tell Ryuzaki, are you?" Hiroko asked, desperation clear in her voice. "I don't want him to think I'm a freak."

"How are you two able to do these things?" Watari asked as he continued flipping through the thick file. "It says here that you, Hiroko, found a little boy that had been lost for a few weeks when you were only four. You threw the boy into the tree, Naoko, and this is only what's on the top of the file."

Naoko and Hiroko looked nervously at each other. "Will you promise not to tell the others?"

Watari glanced at the folder and sighed. "Ryuzaki only wanted the basic information. He never said anything about things like this. One question, though, girls, have you two ever killed anyone?"

"No!" Both shouted in unison. "Those times we hurt those bullies were an accident but we never killed anyone!" Hiroko continued.

"We're not Kira." Naoko added, knowing what Watari was getting at.

"I suppose you wouldn't be." Watari said softly as he took the papers about the strange events out of the folder and slipped them into his coat pocket to dispose of later. "If you were, you would've killed L by now. Now, how are you two able to do these things?"

The two looked at each other before Naoko began speaking. "We've always been able to. Mommy told us it was because of her and her family. We're special, that's what Mommy always said. She was teaching us how to control our powers, but the bad man killed her before she could finish."

"What about the rest of her family?" Watari pressed. "Are they special too?"

"Yeah." Hiroko answered. "At least, that's what Mommy told us. They're all dead. Mommy said our family is cursed. She told us how everyone in her family dies young, especially those that had twins."

Watari frowned. "How young?"

"Well, Mommy said no one in her family has ever reached thirty." Naoko said softly. "Mommy was twenty-nine…"

"Watari, Ryuzaki wants to speak with you." Matsuda poked his head into the room. His smile faltered when he noticed how upset the two girls were. "Everything okay?"

Hiroko and Naoko both quickly put on their brightest smiles. "We're fine, Matsuda." Hiroko assured, remembering the words her mother had drilled into the two of them.

_"Never let anyone too close. In the end, they'll hurt you and leave you, especially once they find out what you can do. Always smile, even if you want to cry. Never let anyone know what you're really feeling. It's the only way for people like us to survive."_

The two hadn't been able to help crying in front of the others after their mothers death. It was difficult to shake their mother's words, though, even though they really wanted to trust Ryuzaki and the others. The only reason either had conceded the information to Watari was because he already had the evidence in front of him and he was no ordinary adult. He would've known if they had lied.

Watari stood up and walked to the door. He paused at the doorway and glanced over at the two girls. "If you two finish your homework, I'll talk to Ryuzaki about allowing the two of you to go outside a bit. It's not good for children to stay cooped up all the time."

"Thank you, Watari!" Both girls shouted in unison before diving into their work. As soon as Watari and Matsuda had closed the door behind them, Naoko glanced over at Hiroko. "Do you think Watari-san hates us now?"

Hiroko shook her head as she finished off her first sheet of math homework. "I know Mommy's always told us that we shouldn't trust people, but I think Watari and the others are different. I think we can trust them."

"You don't think they'll hate us?" Naoko asked. "Mommy said people hate people like us."

Hiroko rolled her eyes. "Please, Ryuzaki would have no right to hate us. I think he's even weirder than the two of us put together."

The two girls looked at each other before bursting into laughter.


	11. Tennis

**So, it's been about a week now and I'm still sick! This is getting ridiculous!**

**Sakura02: He's the weirdest of the weirdest!**

**yvonna: You'll have to keep reading to find out :)**

**Thank you: NijiNoNeko, Usagi323, VampireHuntress72095, Ria- The Ninja of Time, and Princesa de la Luna for reviewing.**

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"Can we go, Ryuzaki-san?" Naoko asked softly as L made his way towards the door. "I want to see Light-san again."

L sighed, running his hand through his hair. "No, it's too dangerous. I'm doing this because there is a small chance that Yagami-kun is Kira. You stay here with Hiroko and do your homework like a good girl."

Naoko bit her lip, before nodding. "Okay…" She blinked as L knelt down in front of her and poked her forehead.

"If all of your schoolwork is done when I get back and if I think it will be safe, perhaps I can take you and Hiroko to see Yagami-kun."

Naoko's eyes lit up. "Really? Thank you, Ryuzaki-san!" She hugged the genius tightly before rushing off to find Hiroko to do their schoolwork.

She found Hiroko in their room, her eyes glazed over as she stared blankly at a piece of paper, the pencil in her hand flying across the page. "Hiroko, what's wrong?" Naoko asked softly, kneeling beside her sister.

Hiroko blinked, her eyes coming back into focus. "I don't know. Something bad is going to happen…" She frowned down at the paper, covered in scribbles save for a random name that she had to squint to see through the scribbles. "Rem…do you recognize that name?"

"No." Naoko answered. "Maybe that's Kira's real name."

"Should we tell Watari?" Hiroko asked.

Naoko was silent for a moment as she weighed the pros and cons. Finally, she nodded her head. The two went off in search of Watari. The two couldn't find him, instead finding Soichiro hard at work in the small hotel living room.

Soichiro smiled at the two girls, his face showing clear signs of exhaustion. "What is it, girls?"

"Where's Watari?" Hiroko asked, keeping the paper hidden behind her back.

"He went to go pick up Ryuzaki from To-Oh University. Is something wrong?" He asked.

"No." Naoko answered, a bright smile on her face. "We just needed help with our school work."

"Well, I may not be a genius like Watari," Soichiro said, stretching his sore muscles. "but I think I might be able to help you two."

"Thank you, Soichiro." The two girls said in unison.

Over the next few hours, Soichiro worked with the girls on their schoolwork. Hiroko kept the piece of paper in her back pocket where no one could see it. As soon as the door to the hotel room opened, the girls leapt from their seats and rushed over to the door. "Welcome back!"

Watari smiled at the two girls. "How are your studies coming along?"

"They've finished all their work for today." Soichiro smiled, patting both girls affectionately on the head.

L nodded slowly, staring blankly out the window. "Girls, how do you like tennis?"

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"Light-san, Light-san!"

Light looked up from the entrance of To-Oh, surprise clear in his face as the twins rushed over and tackled him to the ground. "Hiroko, Naoko, what are you two doing here? Dad said that they had found family for you to stay with."

Naoko smiled as she hugged Light. "We've been staying with Soichiro-san and the others at Taskforce…"

"That's enough out of you." L said, gently whapping Naoko on the head with his tennis racket. "Suffice it to say that these two nosy girls have been staying with me."

"I see." Light said softly. He smiled as Naoko attached herself to his hand. "Well, it's good to see the two of you again. It's been boring at the house without the two of you to lighten the mood."

Naoko beamed up at him. "We missed you too, Light-san!"

Hiroko nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Ryuzaki isn't nice like you. He won't play Candy Land with us."

"Whose Ryuzaki?" Light asked as the little group made their way over to the tennis courts.

"Him." Hiroko yelped as L smacked her upside the head with his tennis racket. "What was that for?"

"My name is Ryuga when we're on campus, understand?" L hissed, tugging on Hiroko's ear to further emphasize his point.

"Yes sir! Yes sir!" Hiroko whined out until L finally released her ear. She glared at the genius while rubbing her bright red ear. "Meanie…"

Light chuckled, picking Naoko up and smiling at the little girl. "Those two seem to get along quite well."

Naoko rolled her eyes. "Hiroko likes picking on Ryuz…I mean…Ryuga."

"I see." Light glanced over at L whom was in the process of smacking Hiroko in the forehead with his tennis racket to prevent her from digging through his pocket for candy. "So, Ryuga, when you suggested that we play a game of tennis to get to know each other, did you know that I was the National Junior Champion?"

Hiroko's eyes widened, her mission to find candy and annoy L momentarily forgotten. "Really? That's amazing, Light!"

L gave Hiroko one more firm whack on the forehead before looking back up at Light. "Don't worry. I used to be the British Junior Champion."

"You used to live in England, Ryuga-san?" Naoko asked softly as Light put her down on the ground and took his place on one side of the tennis net.

L nodded. "I lived there for five years." He prodded Hiroko with his tennis racket until she went to join her sister on the side of the court. "We'll play one set. Whoever wins six games first is the winner."

Naoko and Hiroko sat on the edge of the court, their knees pulled up to their chest. "Is this going to take long?" Hiroko whined to Naoko.

"I don't know." Naoko answered. "I've never played tennis before."

"I'm hungry. You better buy us lunch after this, Ryuga!" Hiroko shouted.

L waved the tennis racket threateningly in Hiroko's direction before starting the game.

Naoko blinked as she suddenly heard people behind them. Peering over her shoulder, she was surprised to find a rather large crowd of people gathered behind them watching the match. She shrugged it off and went back to watching the game. "Don't those two seem to be really…intense about this game?"

Hiroko nodded, flinching every time a tennis ball smacked the pavement with a loud crack. "It's just a game…they need to calm down."

"I don't think either of them likes losing very much." Naoko said softly.

Eventually the game finished with Light coming out victorious. The girls rushed over, both ready to get away from the chattering crowd of young adults. Hiroko grinned up at Light. "I knew you could beat him, Light!"

Light smiled down at her and ruffled her hair. He glanced over at L. "I think we're both thirsty and I know the girls are hungry so why don' t we go get lunch? Besides, there's something I want to ask you."

Naoko grabbed onto Light's hand. "Can we get chocolate milk?"

L glared down at Hiroko whom had grabbed onto his hand and was gleefully swinging it back and forth. "Well, you did beat me so I suppose you can ask whatever you want. However, before you ask me, there's something you should know."

The twins both looked between the two men, noting how they were both suddenly very tense.

" The truth is, Yagami-kun," L began slowly. "I suspect you of being Kira. If you still want to ask me, knowing that I suspect you, go ahead."


	12. Awkward Lunch

**Ahhh! I've been gone forever! Finals are over now and it's Christmas Break so hopefully updates will be more frequent now! Also, this January, there will be two new baby stories! Look for them!**

**Sakura02: Because they are crazy geniuses and crazy geniuses can't be normal XD**

**Thanks: Rachael Hyuuga, VampireHuntress72095, Usagi323, Princesa de la Luna, NightShadow17, and NijiNoNeko for reviewing.**

**Exactly 100 reviews! That's awesome :)**

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**"Light isn't Kira!" Hiroko shouted, glaring up at L and pinching his hand that she was still holding. "That's a bad joke, Ryuga!"

Naoko nodded her head, holding Light's hand tighter. "There's no way Light-san would do something as bad as killing others." She blinked as Light ruffled her hair with his free hand. "Light-san?"

Light laughed good naturedly. "Me? Kira?"

L glared down at Hiroko and whapped her in the head with his tennis racket. "Pinch me again and you'll go in the closet when we get back to Headquarters. When I say 'suspect', it's really only about one percent. What I'd really like to be certain of is that you aren't Kira and that you have amazing investigative skills so you can help with the investigation."

"I'm still hungry." Hiroko whined, pulling on L's hand.

L ignored her, actually pulling his arm up with Hiroko still attached and making the little girl's feet dangle in the air. "I think we should move to a more private place to talk." He motioned towards the rather large crowd that had been watching them play tennis.

Light smiled and nodded. He gently squeezed Naoko's hand as she stared nervously at the large crowd. "It seems this tennis match has made us even more infamous around here. I'll lead the way."

The strange little group managed to slip off of campus and make their way over to a small coffee shop. Light steered them to the very back of the shop to a small booth in the far corner. "I love this place. Nobody can hear what you're talking about when you sit back here." Light explained as they all squished into the booth, Naoko sitting beside Light and Hiroko beside L. Light and L ordered coffee while Naoko and Hiroko ordered chocolate milk and sandwiches. As soon as their orders were brought out, Light and L were all business.

"So, Yagami-kun," L began. "what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

Light smiled and took a sip of his coffee. "I'll ask once you're positive I'm not Kira."

"I still think it's stupid that you suspect Light." Hiroko squeaked as L shoved part of her sandwich into her mouth. She glared up at him as she munched on her sandwich.

"Hush." L said firmly. "The grown ups are talking. "If it's all right with you, Yagami-kun, I'd like to test your reasoning abilities." When Light nodded, L continued. "Does the fact that I told you I'm L tell you anything?"

Light took another sip of his coffee. "It says that you have some hopes that I can help in solving this case and that if you tell someone you're L, you won't be killed or you've taken precautions so that you can't be killed. That leads one to draw the conclusion that, despite the reports saying that Kira just needs to know what a person looks like to kill them, he may need something else as well. In which case, one can conclude that that something is a name. I deduced that from that fact that while L would use an alias anyways, you made a point to use Hideki Ryuga, a celebrity whose name and face are well known to everyone."

Hiroko blinked, looking between L and Light. "Really? I thought it just meant he was an idiot. Ow!" Hiroko whined as L smacked her upside the head. "Child abuser!"

"Hiroko, maybe if you stopped talking, Ryuga-san would stop hitting you." Naoko said softly, biting her lip to keep from giggling as L and Hiroko glowered at each other.

"Good girl, Naoko." L said, pulling a lollipop out of his pocket. "Here's some candy."

Naoko hesitantly took the candy, refraining from pointing out to L that she was not a dog.

"That's not fair!" Hiroko whined. "I want candy."

"Be silent or I will put you in the closet." L said threateningly. "You are correct by the way, Yagami-kun." He frowned as Hiroko suddenly went very pale. "What's wrong?"

Hiroko shook her head, her entire body trembling. "N-Nothing. I'm going to the bathroom!" She shouted before leaping from the booth and rushing off.

"Wait, Hiroko!" Naoko rushed after her sister into the bathroom. She found Hiroko curled up in the corner of the bathroom, covered in a cold sweat. "What's wrong, Hiroko?"

Hiroko leaned against Naoko and clutched tightly to her sister. "I need paper." She gasped out. She was chewing furiously at her lip until the skin broke and blood seeped out.

Naoko rushed over to the paper towel holder and yanked out a few sheets. She hurried back over to Hiroko and placed the paper towels in front of her. "Is it Kira? Or the Bad Man?"

Hiroko shook her head, coating her finger in the blood from her lip. She wasn't writing anything this time. Instead, she was drawing a pair of blood red eyes.

"They look like a girl's eyes." Naoko said softly, watching her twin draw the bloody picture. She stood up and retrieved another paper towel, dampening it before going back to Hiroko and lightly dabbing at her sister's bloody lip. "Is that all you saw?"

Hiroko nodded, shaking her chills off. "First the name Rem and now these eyes…Naoko, keep an eye on any female auras we pass. Maybe Kira's a girl…"

Naoko nodded, helping Hiroko to stand up. "We still haven't told Watari about the name yet. We can show him the picture when we get back."

Just as the two girls were about to exit the bathroom, Light threw the door open. He looked down at the girls, just missing Hiroko hiding the picture behind her back. "Girls, we have to go, now!"

"What's wrong, Light-san?" Naoko asked as he grabbed both their hands and led them out of the bathroom and out the café where L was already climbing into the car that Watari had brought.

"My father had a heart attack." Light grit out, obvious anger in his eyes.

The ride to the hospital was silent and tense. The girls were squished between Light and L, both whom were looking out the window, not speaking a word. As soon as the car pulled up to the hospital, Light flew out of the car, followed by the twins and L. Light grabbed Naoko's hand while L grabbed Hiroko's, making sure the two girls didn't get lost.

"Soichiro!" Hiroko and Naoko rushed over to Soichiro's bedside, worry on both their faces. "Are you okay?"

Soichiro smiled and weakly patted both on the head. "I'm fine, girls. I'm sorry to make you worry."

"Girls?" Sachiko looked at the two in disbelief. "I thought you were with family in England."

"It's a long story, Sachiko." Soichiro consoled. He smiled as L and Light entered the room. "The doctor's say I just overworked myself."

Light frowned as he and L both took a seat beside Soichiro. "Are you sure it was just overwork?"

"Light, how could you say something like that?" Sachiko exclaimed.

"Mom, think about." Light said patiently. "It's the same way all of Kira's other victims died."

Soichiro sighed. "The thought did cross my mind…"

L chewed on his thumb. "You are the head of the Taskforce in charge of the Kira case. You are one of the people Kira would want dead…"

Seeing how upset Sachiko was getting, Soichiro sent her home. He blinked as Naoko was staring rather intently at him. "What's wrong, Naoko? I'm okay. Really."

"Kira didn't do it." Naoko said softly, her eyes slightly glazed over.

L frowned. "What are you talking about? How do you know?" L's frown deepened as Naoko didn't answer.

"Naoko?" Light gently placed a hand on Naoko's shoulder, turning the little girl from Soichiro to him. "How do you know that Kira didn't do it?"

"His aura is different from one of Kira's victims." Naoko answered. "Kira's victims always have a shaky blue aura as they're dying and once they've died. Soichiro-san's is the same as it always is. He just overworked himself."

"Naoko!" Hiroko cried out as Naoko suddenly collapsed.

Light caught Naoko with ease and pulled her into his lap. "Hiroko, what was she talking about?"

Hiroko shifted nervously as L pulled his phone out and called Watari to come retrieve the twins. "I'm not supposed to say."

L frowned. "We're going to have a long talk when we get back to Headquarters." He nodded to Watari as the man came in and retrieved Naoko from Light. "Take them to the car and wait for me outside."

Hiroko followed after Watari. "Are we in trouble, Watari?"

Watari smiled as he situated Naoko in the back seat. "No. Nothing bad will happen to the two of you, I promise."

Hiroko nodded and snuggled next to her sister. She flinched as L opened the door, talking to Light a moment longer before shutting the door.

As the car drove off, L turned his attention to Hiroko. "Tell me everything. Now."


	13. Sakura TV

**Sakura02: Ju-on was on and so I drew inspiration from that :). Hey, it works out for them in the end!**

**Narutofallenangel123: This is based off the manga.**

**Thanks: gaaraofthefunk13, Dieheard243, Nears Angel, InTheLight1396, VampireHuntress72095, IAmABoredGirlWithNothingToDo, NijiNoNeko, Princesa de la Luna, hinatablueeyes708, Sakura Ichigo Morihiko, Hannah, and yvonna for reviewing!**

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Naoko blinked as she woke up on the couch in headquarters. She sat up, only to find her sister sitting beside her and the entire Taskforce (minus Soichiro) sitting around them. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

Hiroko scooted closer to her sister. "We have to tell them. You did your Aura Reading in the hospital. They know something's up."

Naoko's eyes widened. "But, we aren't supposed to tell anyone. Mama said so."

"Mama's not here anymore." Hiroko pointed out, though she felt her heart tighten as she said the words. "It's okay." She said when she saw Naoko's hurt look. She hugged Naoko tightly. "They won't hurt us, right, Watari?"

L looked over at the old man. "You knew about this?" He sighed when the only answer he got was a nod. "Girls, start from the beginning. I promise you, no one will harm you."

Naoko and Hiroko looked at each other a moment longer before clasping their hands together. "We're special." Naoko began slowly. "We can do things other people can't do."

"Such as?" L prompted when the girls stopped talking.

"I can do dowsing and automatic writing." Hiroko explained. She continued slowly at the blank stare she received from most of the group. "I can find things using my dowsing. All I need is something that belonged to that person and I can see where they are. If someone is looking for something, I just need the person to picture the thing and if I touch them, I can see where the object is. I can't control the automatic writing. I hate automatic writing…" Hiroko paused for a moment to take a breath. "It feels like someone else is in control of me…I hate it. Oh, Watari, we wanted to show you these things." Hiroko pulled the piece of paper with the word 'Rem' on it and the paper towel with the picture of the red eyes out of her pocket and handed them over to the old man.

Watari stared at both pieces of paper for a moment before handing them over to L. L looked closely at the two pages along with the rest of the Taskforce. He looked back up at the girls whom were both shifting nervously on the couch and handed the papers back to Watari for him to file. Once Watari had left the room, he continued. "What else can you do?"

"I can read people's auras and do something called scrying." Naoko said softly. "I can tell how a person is really feeling by the color of their aura and I can sense how many people are in a room before seeing them. Scrying lets me see the past, present, and future in any reflective surface."

"Both of us can use clairvoyance, death-warning, precognition, and psychokinesis." Hiroko piped up, doing her best to ignore Matsuda's shocked face.

L stared blankly at the two girls for a moment. "Continue. I don't believe everyone here knows what you are talking about." His eyes cut over to Matsuda whom now looked embarrassed.

"Clairvoyance allows us to see things." Naoko said. "I guess you could call them visions. Death-warning simply means we know when someone is about to die. We get a really bad pain right here." She placed her hand over her heart. "It feels like it's getting squeezed really tight. We only get the death-warning when it's somebody we know that's about to die. The closer we are to that person, the more it hurts."

Hiroko nodded. "Precognition…we aren't very good at that one. We just usually get a really bad feeling when something bad is about to happen. We usually get a bad headache, like someone's scratching their nails down a chalkboard. Naoko's scrying works better than our precognition. As for the psychokinesis…"

"I threw a boy up into a tree when he was bullying me one time." Naoko said softly.

Matsuda looked at the two nervously. "So, you can move stuff with your minds?"

"Not very well." Naoko admitted. "It's only when we get really upset. Mommy was trying to teach us, but…"

Before anyone could say anything further, Watari came into the room. "Ryuzaki, you must see what's on Sakura TV!" Watari clicked the TV on.

A man was sitting in a chair with a screen behind him that said 'A Message From Kira. Four Terrifying Videos'.

"Girls, go to your room." L said softly as he turned his seat around to face the TV.

The two girls didn't need to be told twice. They slipped off the couch and rushed into the adjacent room. As soon as the two had closed the door, they hugged each other. "Do you think they're going to hurt us?" Hiroko asked.

Naoko shook her head. "I don't think so. They seemed to take it pretty well." The two remained huddled in their room as they heard shouting from not only the TV, but from the Taskforce as well. When they heard a door slam, they dared to peek out of the room. "Where's Ukita-san?" Naoko asked softly.

"Girls, you need to stay in your room." L said firmly.

The twins frowned at how high strung everyone seemed to be. Hiroko was the first to step out of the room. She grabbed Naoko's hand and the two walked over to stand beside L. "Where's Ukita-san?" Hiroko asked. Both girls flinched as their hearts clenched tightly. "Where's Ukita-san?" Hiroko asked with more urgency.

The answer came soon enough as Watari had wheeled in two additional televisions. Another news station was reporting live from outside Sakura TV. In front of the Sakura TV station, a man laid crumpled at the door.

"Ukita-san!" Naoko cried out. She blinked as Aizawa rushed for the door. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "Aizawa-san, don't go! If you go there, you'll die just like Ukita-san!"

"She's right." L said.

Aizawa shook Naoko's grip off of him. "You expect me to just sit her and watch TV?" He hissed at L.

L glanced over his shoulder. "I expect you to calm down and think clearly. I want to stop these videos just as much as you and if we can get a hold of those tapes, we may be able to track Kira down. However, Ukita was just murdered by going to Sakura. Whoever else goes there will die too."

Aizawa turned back to L. He still looked furious but he was no longer trying to run to the door. "If Kira was able to kill him, that means his fake police badge didn't help! Kira already knows our names."

Naoko and Hiroko both shook their heads. "It has something to do with those eyes I saw." Hiroko said. "I don't know what, but I know those eyes helped Kira to kill Ukita-san."

L frowned. "We originally thought Kira needed both a name and a face, but from what has just happened, perhaps he only needs to see someone's face. All we know for sure is that Ukita-san was killed for going there. Since he died before the news stations got there, that means Kira is either inside Sakura, somewhere where he can see Sakura, or that he set up cameras in advance."

Aizawa clenched his fist at his side. "If he's there now, that's all the more reason we should go!"

L went back to looking at the televisions. "I'll say it again; if you go there now, you'll be killed."

Aizawa snarled before grabbing L's shoulder and shaking him. "Ukita was just murdered by Kira! I thought you said we were supposed to risk our lives to arrest him!"

"I did say that." L said softly. "There's a difference between risking your life and putting yourself in a situation that will needlessly rob you of your life."

"Leave him alone, Aizawa-san!" Hiroko pushed Aizawa away from L. "Ryuzaki is doing his best."

Aizawa blinked as Naoko was suddenly crying. "Naoko…"

Naoko went and stood protectively in front of L, still crying. "Ryuzaki-san is just as upset as you are, Aizawa-san. He's upset that Ukita-san is dead, but he doesn't want you to die too. Please stay here, Aizawa-san."

Aizawa noticed for the first time how tightly L was clutching his legs and how his whole body was shaking. He sighed. "All right. I'm calm now, girls. You can't stop glaring at me like that, Hiroko. You can stop crying, Naoko."

The whole conversation was cut off rather abruptly by the sound of a crash coming from the TV. They all turned their attention back to the screen in time to see an armored police vehicle crashing through the doors of Sakura TV.

"Well, that's one way to get in without anyone seeing your face." L muttered. "Girls, can you tell who it is?"

Both Naoko and Hiroko shook their heads. "Whoever it is, they're awesome!" Hiroko grinned. "Look, more cops are showing up!"

Indeed, another patrol car had rolled up to the front of Sakura TV. As soon as the two officers stepped out of their vehicles, they fell over dead, like Ukita.

"Girls, sit on the couch and be silent." L said before ordering Aizawa to call Deputy Chief Kitamura.

The two girls obediently sat down, neither speaking a word as L spoke to Kitamura. When Watari's cellphone rang and it was Soichiro on the other end, Hiroko grinned. "Soichiro-san is amazing!"

Naoko nodded her head in agreement. She never would have thought Soichiro would drive through Sakura TV just to get all those Kira tapes. Both twins had a new respect for him. They watched the television as an organized and shielded group of officers appeared. They couldn't see what was happening now in front of Sakura TV which they supposed was the point. If they couldn't see, surely Kira couldn't either.

"Soichiro-san!" The twins leapt up as Watari helped Soichiro over to the couch.

Soichiro smiled as he handed over the bag with the tapes and envelope over to L. "I'm sorry I let my emotions get the better of me and take things into my own hands."

L nodded his head but said nothing as Matsuda helped Soichiro to sit on the couch.

Soichiro was immediately surrounded by both twins on either side of him. "Don't worry us like that ever again, Soichiro." Hiroko pouted.

"That was really reckless." Naoko piped up.

Soichiro smiled and ruffled both girls' hair. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"Naoko, Hiroko, go to bed." L said as he dug through the bag. "We've got important police work to do and we're going to need your help. I want you well rested for tomorrow."

Naoko and Hiroko looked at each other before looking back at L. "So, you aren't going to kill us or turn us over to scientist?" Hiroko asked slowly.

"No." Was all L managed to get out before he was being hugged tightly by both girls. "Bed…now…" he choked out. He glared at the two girls as they rushed off to their room. "Children…"


	14. New Task Force Member

**Sorry for the lack of updates recently. School is crazy right now. **

**VampireHuntress72095: Aw, of course I love you! I love all my reviewers :)**

**Sakura02: He can even give her a treat for doing a trick! XD**

**hinatablueeyes708: The girls will notice that something is off about Light, but to what extent, I'm not sure yet. Obviously I don't want them to figure out right away that he's Kira because the story would be over far too quickly. As for the shinigami, that will also come more into play as the story progresses.**

**Thanks: InTheLight1396, Princesa de la Luna, gaaraofthefunk13, SilentSincerity, and Nears Angel for reviewing!**

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"You're not serious, are you, Soichiro-san?" Hiroko shouted angrily, splashing her tea out of her cup as she slammed it on the table.

Naoko flinched, but was equally as upset as her twin. "Those other police chiefs haven't helped at all and they just want L to go on TV like Kira wants him to?"

Soichiro sighed as he slumped down on the couch next to Matsuda. It had been only a couple days since the chaotic mess at SakuraTV. They had allowed Sakura to air the final tape which outlined Kira's demands for the police to have L come on television to be killed. If this did not happen, Kira had promised to kill police chiefs around the world. "I'm afraid so."

L sighed as he sipped his tea. "Their choice is right and reasonable. Hiroko, if you slam that cup down one more time and get more tea on the carpet, you're going to be the one to clean it up."

Hiroko pouted. "How can you be so calm, Ryuuzaki? Those jerks want you to die for them!"

L shrugged as he began eating the cake in front of him. "If the choice is between me and the NPA Director General, then I'm the logical choice. After all, I'm the one that challenged Kira and swore to capture him. It's the right decision."

Naoko frowned as she looked into her tea. "But…it's not fair." She muttered lamely, having nothing else she could think of to say.

"What's more troubling is that when I appear on television, and I intend to," he cut in when Hiroko and Naoko opened their mouths to protest again. "if Kira knows nothing about me, how do I convince him I'm really L?"

The Task Force looked around at each other. "That's true…" Matsuda said.

"But…but…" Hiroko opened and closed her mouth a few times. Her and Naoko were quite upset by the whole thing, particularly how nonchalantly L was talking about allowing himself to die. They'd lost quite enough people the past few months without someone they had just bonded with to die as well.

"He's not even the real Kira!" Naoko finally blurted out. She quickly covered her mouth as the Task Force whipped around to look at her.

L nodded as he ate his cake. "I'd suspected as much. I thought he may have been an accomplice but that doesn't seem likely after reviewing the first tape sent in."

"How'd you figure that?" Matsuda asked. "I mean, if Naoko says so I guess it's true since she probably…saw something…" Matsuda was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that the two girls had psychic powers. "I watched the tape, though, and I didn't suspect anything."

"The victims that were killed to prove the sender was Kira were different from ones that Kira kills." L answered. "They were TV celebrities that had been caught with drugs. Only daytime tabloid news made a big fuss about it."

"Girls, have you seen anything to help?" Soichiro asked. He had been filled in on the girls' uniqueness's after he had recovered.

Hiroko and Naoko both looked at each other and shrugged. "Nothing concrete. But, it's definitely not the same Kira. It has something to do with the name Rem and those red eyes I drew."

"I'm seventy percent certain there is a Second Kira." L piped up.

Naoko and Hiroko tuned out what the group was saying around them. "I'm going to the bathroom." Hiroko suddenly announced.

"I'll go with you." Naoko said softly, following after her sister.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Hiroko sighed and slumped against the wall. "This sucks, Naoko."

Naoko nodded, sitting beside her sister with her knees drawn up. "I wish Mom could have taught us how to use our powers better. Then, we might actually be able to help."

Hiroko frowned, resting her head against Naoko's shoulder. "I don't want Ryuuzaki to die…I don't want anyone else to die…we need the book."

Naoko stiffened. "But…it's back at the house…we'd have to go back there…"

"Don't you want to save everyone, Naoko?" Hiroko asked, sitting up. "What if Kira does kill Ryuuzaki? Or Soichiro-san or even Light?"

Naoko's eyes widened. She looked around to make sure nobody was coming towards them. "How are we going to leave, though? Ryuuzaki won't let us go anywhere without him or one of the others."

Hiroko shrugged as she stood up. "We'll figure something out. Come on, let's go back."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow as the two girls came back. "Everything okay?"

Hiroko put on her most dazzling smile while Naoko smiled softly. "Yup." Hiroko hopped back into her seat. She blinked when she noticed the grin on Soichiro's face. "What's wrong?"

"Light will be joining the Task Force." Soichiro said. "He should be here shortly."

Naoko's eyes lit up. "Does that mean you don't think he's Kira anymore, Ryuuzaki-san?"

L sipped his tea. "Not entirely. Don't you glare at me like that, Young Lady."

Naoko pouted but didn't argue since Light walked in right at that moment. "Light-san!"

Light smiled as he was tackled to the ground by the two excited twins. Hiroko was attached to his waist while Naoko had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. "Hey, girls. It's good to see you again."

"Girls, go to your room for a bit while we brief Light-kun on the evidence and show him the tapes." L said, nudging at Hiroko with his foot.

The two pouted but complied. "I'm really tired of them sending us to our room when they want to talk about serious Kira stuff. We're not kids."

"Actually, we are, Hiroko. We're only seven." Naoko reminded patiently.

Hiroko rolled her eyes. "That's not the point." Her face suddenly turned serious. "Did you sense something…odd about Light?"

Naoko nodded. "Yes, but…it wasn't Light himself. It was like…there was something…something attached to him."

"Naoko, Hiroko, you can come out now." Soichiro sighed tiredly as he opened the door. He blinked as he felt two small hands touching his own.

"Soichiro-san, are you okay?" Naoko asked softly.

"Don't worry." Hiroko added. "We know Light is innocent. Ryuuzaki will see it soon enough too. Light's a good person."

Soichiro smiled down at the two. "Thank you, girls. It's almost like you can read my mind sometimes…you can't, can you?"

Naoko wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "No. Our mom could, but we didn't get that power."

"Good thing too." Hiroko shuddered. "I don't know if I'd want to know what Light was thinking after seeing he had those dirty magazines in his room."

"Light-san isn't that kind of a person!" Naoko whined as Soichiro led the two girls back into the room.

Soichiro watched with mild interest as Hiroko immediately shoved L over to sit next to him while Naoko curled up beside Light on the couch to watch the video response the Task Force had made from the 'real' Kira. The way the two boys reacted to the girls was amusing as well. L glowered at Hiroko and kept trying to shove her off the chair with his foot while Light simply smiled down at Naoko and wrapped a protective arm around the small girl. Things were definitely going to be interesting from now on.

* * *

It was a couple days later when Watari's voice rang through the meeting room. Light had been helping Hiroko and Naoko with their studies, having already been filled in on their gifts.

"Ryuuzaki, we received a response from the Second Kira!" Watari's distorted voice said.

"Don't you dare tell us to leave." Hiroko snapped at L. "We wanna know what this moron has to say."

L sighed, but decided not to fight them. "Play the tape."

_"Kira, thank you for responding."_ The gravely voice came over the speakers as the crudely written name 'Kira' appeared on the screen.

"It's a girl." Naoko said with a definitive air.

L glanced at the two young girls. "How can you tell?"

Naoko hesitated before speaking. "The aura coming from the tape…it's a really feminine one…almost annoyingly so."

_"I want to meet you, Kira. I don't think you have the eyes, but I won't kill you so don't be worried." _The voice continued.

"Eyes…" Hiroko muttered, flashing back the red eyes she had drawn earlier in the week.

"Light-san, are you okay?" Naoko asked as she felt the tense nervousness emanating from Light. She held his hand tightly. "It's okay. Don't be scared."

_"Please think of a way we can meet without the police knowing. We can confirm each other when we meet by showing our Shinigami."_

"Ryuuzaki!" Hiroko cried out as L suddenly fell from his seat. She crouched down beside him. "Are you okay?"

L stared in horror at the screen. "Shinigami? Are we really supposed to believe there's such a thing?"

Naoko and Hiroko exchanged looks. Their mother had mentioned shinigami on numerous occasions while they were growing up. Shinigami were bad. They brought chaos. More importantly, the thing their mother had always repeated to them rang out in their mind.

_"When the Shinigami appear, chaos reigns down. When they come to Earth, the end is near and the search for Death's Scythe will begin."_


	15. Out On the Town

**Getting another tattoo today. This one's gonna hurt a lot more than the last one did…hopefully I don't cry!**

**VampireHuntress72095: Well, I can't reveal that yet. It'll spoil the story ;)**

**gaaraofthefunk13: Thank you**

**Sakura02: Like you aren't anti-Shinigami :P (Sha-la-la-la)**

**SecretlyTwisted: Thank you**

**Diehard243: Thanks for reviewing**

**InTheLight1396: Lol, yeah, Naoko will not particularly care for Misa either.**

**yvonna: Thank you**

**Hannah: Thanks**

**NijiNoNeko: Aw, thank you. L was the one I was most worried about portraying. I just see him being very sarcastic and such with the girls.**

**SilentSincerity: Thank you**

**hinatablueeyes708: :)**

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"Girls, are you okay?" Aizawa asked, noticing how pale the girls had gone at the mention of Shinigami. He smiled reassuringly at the two trembling girls. "Shinigami aren't real. There's nothing to be scared of."

"He's right." Light said, squeezing Naoko's hand gently. "There's no way something like Shinigami are real."

Hiroko breathed a sigh of relief as L straightened up from his earlier tumble. Her and Naoko exchanged brief glances and decided not to say anything to the group about what their mother had told them. They didn't want to freak any of the others out. Besides, they had never seen a Shinigami before so they couldn't say for sure whether they were real or not. "Are you okay, Ryuzaki?"

L brushed Hiroko's hand off. "I'm fine. Kira made a prisoner write something alluding to the existence of Shinigami one time."

"Then, should we assume that this is the same Kira?" Soichiro asked.

"It's not." Naoko and Hiroko said in unison. "The original Kira is definitely a male." Naoko continued. "This Second Kira is a female. So, the references to Shinigami must have something to do with how they're able to kill people."

"She's right." Light said. "Besides, if this was the original Kira, why would he reply to our video and go along with our plan to not kill L on TV?"

"So, have the real Kira and the Second Kira joined forces? Maybe they're trying to confuse us with the Shinigami reference." Aizawa piped up.

L finally stood up from the floor and righted his chair before sitting back down. He glared at Hiroko as she once again crawled in beside him. "That's not possible. As Light-kun said, if the two were working together, they wouldn't stop their plan to have me killed on TV. This Second Kira is acting on his own and not under Kira's ideals. The Second Kira's desire is to meet Kira, not change the world as Kira claims to be doing."

"Are you guys going to send another message?" Naoko asked.

"Can I write it this time?" Hiroko asked excitedly. She yelped as L pulled her cheek.

"Grown ups are talking right now." L said as patiently as he could. "We'll let Kira and the Second Kira handle everything from here."

"What do you mean, Ryuzaki?" Aizawa asked, just as alarmed as everyone else in the room.

"We can assume the Second Kira is very happy right now that he…she," he corrected when he saw Naoko about to protest. "received a reply from Kira. She succeeded in getting Kira's attention. She also only used terms the two of them would understand. We'll run her reply on the 6 o'clock news tonight."

That night, Hiroko and Naoko curled up in their bed side by side, neither tired. They could hear the Task Force outside still working diligently, but trying their best to remain quiet so as not to disturb the two girls. Light had gone home after the news had aired with the Second Kira's reply. "How are we going to get home to get the book?" Hiroko asked softly.

"Maybe we could just ask Ryuzaki-san to let us go home and get the book." Naoko said softly. "That way…that way we wouldn't have to go there alone."

"You two should be asleep." Soichiro sighed as he walked into the room. "We can hear you whispering in here. Is something wrong?" He asked, coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Naoko and Hiroko sat up, looking nervously at each other before Hiroko began speaking. "We need to get something from our home. It's really important and it'll help us to find Kira."

"Girls, everything was removed from the house." Soichiro said slowly. "There's nothing left there."

"No, it's still there." Naoko said. "Mommy hid it really well so no one could find it. Our daddy didn't even know where it was."

Soichiro sighed tiredly. "What is it exactly?"

"It's a book." Hiroko answered. "It's been passed down in our family for as long as anyone can remember. It teaches you how to use and master your powers. Mommy had been teaching us out of that book before…"

"If we can get the book, we'll be able to master our powers and then we'll be able to help all of you better." Naoko finished.

Soichiro was silent for a moment. "Go to sleep, Naoko, Hiroko. I'll talk to Ryuzaki and see if we can't figure something out." He tucked the girls back in and kissed their foreheads before leaving the room.

Ryuzaki went into the room a few hours later to talk to the girls about the book, but found they were both sound asleep. He rolled his eyes as he saw Hiroko was hanging off the side of her bed, about to fall off. He shuffled over to her and nudged her back onto the bed and tucked her in before quietly leaving the room.

* * *

"What do you think, Naoko?" Ryuzaki asked as he watched Naoko intently studying the piece of notebook paper he had handed to her.

Naoko closed her eyes, concentrating on the faint aura that surrounded the paper. "It's the same person that sent the video."

"So, does everyone have different auras?" Matsuda asked Naoko.

"Yes." Naoko answered. "The Second Kira has an obnoxiously loud aura. Even when it's this faint, it gives me a headache." She blushed as Light chuckled. "Ryuzaki-san, when can we go home and get the book?"

Ryuzaki sipped at his tea thoughtfully. He had spoken to the girls earlier that morning, just before the diary had arrived. "Hmmm, I suppose whenever you girls wish to go retrieve it, you may."

"So, what are you guys going to do about this idiot?" Hiroko asked, taking her customary spot next to L and grinning as he spilled some of his tea. "If you announce that Kira and the Second Kira are going to meet at the Giants game at the Tokyo Dome, people are going to freak out."

L glowered down at Hiroko, moving over so she was smushed uncomfortably between him and the side of the chair. "If we broadcast the diary, we'll also have to announce that the game is cancelled. If we don't broadcast it, the Second Kira may not act."

"What if she gets mad when you cancel the game?" Naoko asked, handing the diary page back over to Light. Being in constant contact with the paper was giving her a serious headache. "She might do something drastic."

"Women can do crazy things when you upset them." Hiroko added, grinning when L rolled his eyes.

"I don't think she will." L said slowly. "The Second Kira seems to revere Kira. For now, let us assume that she has sworn to the Kira we created to not kill anymore innocents. We'll broadcast the diary and announce the cancellation of the game. We should also announce that we will be closing the streets around the dome and that we will be conducting an investigation there. With all the police help we received at SakuraTV, I don't it will be difficult to get help for this as well. Then, we'll create another message from 'Kira' that agrees to meet the Second Kira at the dome."

Soichiro raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think they'd be stupid enough to come after it's announced that there will be police investigating around the dome?"

"I don't think the real Kira will come." L said, taking another sip from his tea. "I'm not sure about the Second Kira, though as I'm not sure just how stupid she is. However, let us assume that the Second Kira isn't so stupid and that there may be another hidden message in this diary."

"What about the other entries that mentioned different locations?" Naoko asked.

L nodded as he scanned the diary page again. "There's an entry that talks about showing off notebooks on the 22nd in Aoyama and buying clothes in Shibuya on the 24th. We'll investigate those areas as well. We'll start installing cameras in all three locations and on both the 22nd and 24th, we'll have plain-clothed officers wandering around. Also, I want Naoko to go to Aoyama and Shibuya with whoever is our undercover."

"Ryuzaki, that's too dangerous!" Soichiro protested. "I understand that we, as members of the Task Force, must put our lives on the line to capture Kira. Naoko is just a child!"

"I agree." Light said, pulling Naoko to his side. "We can't put Naoko or Hiroko in the line of fire."

L ignored both of them. "Naoko, would you be able to recognize the Second Kira's aura?"

Naoko fidgeted with her hands. "I…don't know. I've never tried to pick a person out of a crowd with my Aura Reading before. I'll try though."

"Then I'm going too!" Hiroko declared. "There's no way I'm going to let Naoko face that idiot alone! We can go get the book after Aoyama."

"I'll go." Matsuda said. "I'll fit right in at Aoyama and Shibuya."

"I'll go too." Light said. "We'll take the girls to their house afterwards, get the book, and come back."

* * *

"I swear if one more of those girls coo at us, I'm going to smack them." Hiroko grouched as she and Naoko walked hand in hand beside Light. She glanced at Naoko out of the corner of her eyes and frowned at how pale she was. "Don't push yourself too hard. You're not going to do anyone any good if you faint."

Naoko nodded shakily. She was trying to find the Second Kira's aura amidst all the chaos of Aoyama. The harder she tried, though, the more the auras of everyone around blended together, making Naoko feel sicker and sicker to her stomach. She blinked as she felt someone grab her free hand.

Light smiled down at Naoko and squeezed her hand gently. "It's all right, Naoko."

Immediately, Naoko felt better. Light's aura was radiating calmness which soothed her. Despite this, Naoko was unable to pinpoint the aura of the Second Kira. "I'm sorry." She whimpered out as she, Hiroko, Light, and Matsuda were leaving Aoyama and heading towards Naoko and Hiroko's old home.

"Don't worry about it, Naoko." Matsuda said reassuringly. "Maybe the Second Kira wasn't even there. We'll try again in Shibuya and at the dome."

Naoko didn't have time to argue as they were standing outside their old home. Just seeing the walkway up to the front door made the breath rush out of both Hiroko and Naoko, both twins instinctively reaching out and grabbing each others hands. The window the bad man had broken to get into their house was still broken, yellow police tape covering up the hole.

"Girls, why don't you just tell me where it is and I'll go get it." Light said. "You don't have to go back in there."

"No, we'll get it." Hiroko said, already tugging Naoko towards the house. "You two wait out here; we'll be right back." Before Light or Matsuda could protest, Hiroko had opened the front door and pulled Naoko inside with her. She locked the door behind her out of habit before leading Naoko to the kitchen. "Do you remember where Mommy hid it?"

Naoko nodded slowly, her eyes flickering back to where the stairs were. She wondered if the blood stain from where their mother had died was still there or if someone had cleaned it up. She shook herself from the memories that tried to push to the front of her brain and began tapping her foot on the tiles. She smiled a little when she heard a slightly hollow sound right beside the stove.

Hiroko came over and helped Naoko to pull the tile away. The twins looked at each other before pulling a large tome out of its hiding place. The book was old, with a plain looking cracked leather cover. "Let's go." Hiroko whispered, wanting desperately to get out of the house.

"Is that it?" Matsuda asked dubiously as the girls bolted out of the house. He took the book from Hiroko and turned it over in his hand. "It just looks like an old piece of junk." He yelped as Hiroko kicked him in the shin.

"It's not junk!" Hiroko shouted.

Light took the book from Matsuda and tried to open it. He frowned as the cover wouldn't budge. "It won't open."

"That's because only members of our family can open it." Naoko said as Light handed the book to her. To prove her point, Naoko easily flipped the cover open to reveal pages written in an ancient text that Light didn't recognize. "We can read it." She said when she saw how dubiously Light was looking at the book.

"Well, I suppose we should head back to headquarters." Matsuda sighed.

Light began following after him, but paused when he realized the girls were lingering on the sidewalk, staring up the house. "Naoko, Hiroko, let's go."

Naoko and Hiroko quickly rushed off after Light and Matsuda, neither looking back at the figure in the upstairs window.


	16. Studying

**Sakura02: Oh my god, yellow hurts like a bitch! The next tattoo I get is not having any yellow in it! **

**VampireHuntress72095: We won't find out who the Bad man is for a while :) Wait until the twins actually meet Misa; chaos will ensue, I can promise you that.**

**Princesa de la Luna: I can't tell you about their father right now. We'll mention him more later on in the story**

**Thank you: Yuri 'Ziako' Glass Rose, Sakura Ichigo Morihiko, yvonna, Azura Soul Reaver, Tetra Muffins, and Yami Mizuna for reviewing!**

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"Are you sure you didn't sense anything at all, Naoko?" L asked.

Naoko glanced up from where she and Hiroko were sitting on the floor, pouring over the book and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. There were so many people and their auras were all blending together. If I was better trained…"

L waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it."

_"Ryuzaki, Sakura TV has received another video from the Second Kira." _Watari's distorted voice came through the computer. _"I'm sending you the file now."_

Hiroko straightened up as well as the clip began playing. She frowned as the voice said that they were able to find Kira. "How's that possible?"

"I'm so sorry." Naoko buried her face in her hands. "I should've sensed them. Now that Kira and the Second Kira are working together, things are going to get worse."

"There's no guarantee they're working together just yet." L said calmly, stirring his tea. "Up until now, the Second Kira has talked about desiring to meet Kira. She only said that she had found Kira which means she may not have contacted him yet. I think we can safely assume that the Second Kira has not contacted Kira up until the 23rd according to when this video was postmarked."

"That makes sense." Hiroko muttered. "It'd be stupid for Kira to let the Second Kira announce to the world that she had 'found' him. This girl is a moron."

Naoko nodded in agreement. "So, what are you going to do now, Ryuzaki-san?"

"I think it would be best for the police to send a message to the Second Kira. We can offer leniency to the Second Kira in exchange for Kira's identity. This will be especially effective if Kira doesn't know who the Second Kira is yet." He turned to Soichiro. "Would it be possible to offer the Second Kira immunity?"

"No way!" Hiroko shouted. "That creep has killed at least eight innocent people! You can't let someone like that get off completely free!"

"She's right." Soichiro mumbled.

L nodded slowly. "Then, we'll just have to be vague about what we're offering. We can say something like they'll be treated like a hero for turning Kira in."

The Task Force spent the rest of the evening working on the message that would run on all the news stations that evening. When it was time for Light to go home, Naoko and Hiroko walked to the door with him.

"Be careful going home, Light-san." Naoko smiled softly up at him, noticing how tense he was. "It'll be okay, Light-san. You guys will definitely stop those bad people."

Light gave Naoko and Hiroko a small smile before hugging both girls. He kissed Naoko on the side of her head and ruffled Hiroko's hair. "I'll see the two of you later."

Naoko sighed as Light left. "Do you want to keep studying?" She asked Hiroko.

"I'm bored with reading." Hiroko groaned out. A wicked look suddenly came over her face. "I think we need to practice. Oh, Matsuda!" She sang as she skipped back into the living room.

Matsuda looked up nervously as Hiroko came in with an evil grin with Naoko trailing reluctantly behind her. "What is it, Hiroko?"

"We need someone to practice on." Hiroko answered. "Can we use you?"

"Of course." L answered for Matsuda, turning his attention from the television screen where he was watching the news.

Matsuda felt like crying as Hiroko instructed him to sit very still on the couch. When she disappeared into the tiny kitchen area and Naoko began apologizing profusely, he grew even more nervous. "Is that a knife?"

"Well, yeah." Hiroko said, holding a butcher knife in her hand. "I want to see how close I can get to hitting you without actually causing any serious damage." She placed the knife on the ground before her.

"Couldn't you use an apple or something?" Matsuda whined, looking to Soichiro and the others for help.

"Hiroko, that's very dangerous." Soichiro chastised. "Please go put that away."

Hiroko sighed. "Fine." She took the knife and stormed back to the kitchen, returning a moment later with an apple.

Before Matsuda could move or even say anything, he was hit right in the middle of his forehead with the apple. "Hiroko!" Naoko yelped. "You weren't supposed to hit him!"

Even Hiroko's eyes were wide with surprise. "Sorry, Matsuda! I really wasn't aiming for you! I guess I need to study a little more…" She yelped as she was suddenly hoisted up under someone's arm. "Wow, Ryuzaki, you're pretty strong for such a scrawny guy."

"Bedtime." L sighed out, tossing Hiroko onto her bed. He glanced at Naoko as she came into the room.

Naoko quickly skirted around Ryuzaki, afraid he may pick her up and throw her as well. "Good night, Ryuzaki-san!"

* * *

"Oh, that's why I hit Matsuda…" Hiroko chewed thoughtfully on an apple as she and Naoko poured over the book the next day. Both Naoko and Hiroko had tried their best not to laugh at the giant bruise on Matsuda's forehead, but had failed miserably.

Naoko sighed as she flipped to the next page. "I wish Mom were still here to help us with this stuff. I don't understand most of it." She perked up as she heard the door open and ran over. "Welcome back, Light-san!"

Light hugged Naoko before walking over to where L was sitting. He couldn't help smiling as Naoko clung to his hand with both of hers. "Hey, Ryuzaki."

"Perfect time, Light-kun." L said, glancing over his shoulder. He didn't even bother looking down as Hiroko took up her now customary position beside him in the chair. "The Second Kira sent us another response. She says this will be her last one."

"Again?" Light asked. "That was fast…"

The group watched the tape silently. Naoko confirmed that it was indeed the Second Kira's aura before L spoke up. "Seeing this video makes me think that Kira and the Second Kira have joined forces."

"Really?" Hiroko asked. "But, she said she wouldn't try and contact him."

"You're too trusting." Ryuzaki said, glancing over at Naoko whom had been about to agree with her sister. "You shouldn't believe everything everyone tells you. Don't you agree, Light-kun?"

Light nodded slowly. "But, what makes you think they've joined forces?"

L raised an eyebrow as he plucked one of the doughnuts from the box before him. He broke it in half and gave one of the halves to Hiroko before reaching over and giving the other to Naoko. He then took one for himself. "I'm surprised you didn't reach the same conclusion as I. After wanting to meet Kira so badly, why the sudden one eighty? Besides, the whole bit about passing judgment on criminals that Kira has yet to in order to get Kira to accept her…why didn't she do that before? I think Kira told her to and also told her to keep their cooperation a secret."

"Then, Kira's not being very sneaky like he usually is." Hiroko piped up as she licked the sugar from her fingers.

"Maybe something happened where he didn't have much time to think." Naoko said thoughtfully.

L nodded. "It could be that or maybe he wants us to know they are now working together since that is a rather huge blow to us. Though, this makes it less likely that Light-kun is Kira."

"Really?" Naoko and Soichiro said in unison, both clearly excited. Naoko grinned up at Light. "Isn't that great, Light-san? Ryuzaki-san doesn't think you're Kira anymore!"

"I didn't say that." L said. "I simply said it made it a great deal less likely. If Light-kun was Kira, I think he would have the Second Kira try and force me back onto TV."

"I wouldn't do that if I were Kira, Ryuzaki." Light said softly, startling both Naoko and Hiroko. "If you're L, then I know your personality. No matter the threat, there's no way L would ever appear on TV and he wouldn't allow someone to take his place. You'd find a way out of it."

Ryuzaki grinned sheepishly over his shoulder. "I can't get anything by you."

"I don't like when you talk like that, Light-san." Naoko protested, squeezing his hand.

"She's right." Soichiro added. "I don't care if you're trying to make a point, I don't like all this 'if I were Kira' business."

Light crouched down and pulled Naoko into a hug. "Sorry, Naoko, Dad. I only say these things because I know I'm not Kira."

"Still…" Naoko protested weakly. She wrapped her arms around Light's neck for reassurance.

"Right, Light-kun isn't Kira…or, rather…I don't want him to be." Ryuzaki said softly. "Because…Light-kun is my first ever friend."

Light was surprised before he gave a genuine smile. "Thanks, Ryuzaki. You're a good friend to me too. I miss you at school. I'd like to play tennis with you again soon."

"Yes." L said with a smile. "I'd like that. Once we've solved this case and rid the world of Kira and the Second Kira, we can. I hope that day comes soon. Right now, though, I'm scared to go outside or even show my face to anyone. I may need to go into hiding again for a while."

Light left shortly after, saying goodbye to Naoko and Hiroko. "Hey, Ryuzaki, what about me?" Hiroko asked as she skipped back over to L. "Aren't I your friend?"

L poked her in the forehead as she sat beside him again. "You are a nuisance that I got stuck with because you are too curious for your own good. Now, get back to studying before I hit you with an apple." He almost smirked as Hiroko whined and quickly scrambled off to go study with Naoko.


	17. Misa

**I am so sorry for my long absence everyone! It was the end of the semester and Physics was kicking my butt. I'm all done now with the Spring semester so updates should be much more frequent :) Thank you all for your patience and continued support!**

**Sakura02: Bring it down, Courtney! Bring it down!**

**VampireHuntress72095: The twins don't know that Misa is the Second Kira, only that it is an annoying female. The reason they don't realize Light is Kira is that they have never seen anything that they are aware belongs to Kira. Now, should Naoko see Light's Death Note and learn that it's Kira's weapon, she would know that Light is Kira. I hope that makes sense. If not, let me know and I'll try and explain it better.**

**Hannah: Why, thank you!**

**Princesa de la Luna: Thank you**

**Rayne Taylor: Well, I can't reveal yet what Hiroko will do, it'll spoil the story. Suffice to say, though, she won't be a happy child.**

**Frogata: I have one tattoo that is a rose with the stem in the shape of a open heart with a rose bud at one end and a fully bloomed rose on the other with thorns and four leaf clovers going along the stem and another is a phoenix :)**

* * *

"Wow, it's so pretty today." Hiroko hopped from foot to foot beside the bench where L was calmly sitting and reading. She and Naoko had been rather surprised when L had come into their room and asked them if they would like to go see Light at school that day.

Naoko stood on top of the bench, trying to see over the milling students heads in an attempt to find Light. Her eyes lit up when she saw him walking in their direction. "Light-san!" She called excitedly, hopping down from the bench and smiling as he came over. Her smile turned into a frown when she saw the woman beside Light, staring down at her coldly.

Hiroko blinked as she swore Naoko hissed at the woman. She'd never seen her sister so hostile towards someone before. Hiroko glared at the woman as well. "Who are you?"

The woman looked between Hiroko and Naoko, whom was now hugging Light's waist tightly. "My name is Takada." She put on a false smile for the two. "You must be Naoko and Hiroko. Yagami has told me quite a deal about the two of you."

Naoko glowered up at her, her grip on Light tightening. "He's never mentioned you to us before."

Light wasn't sure whether to laugh or chastise Naoko for her behavior. He opted for picking her up and kissing the side of her head. "Play nice, Naoko. Takada, I'd like to talk to them in private. I'll see you later, okay?"

Naoko smirked in triumph as Takada walked off. She blinked as Light sat her down on the ground, but said nothing as he took her hand in his.

L looked at Naoko curiously. "Remind me to never upset you."

Hiroko laughed. "Everyone thinks I'm the mean twin, but Naoko's the scariest when she gets mad."

Light chuckled before turning his attention to L. "Is it okay for you to be out here? I thought you were worried about your face being seen."

L shrugged casually. "I figured it was fine since you're the only one on the outside that knows my face…well…as long as you're not Kira anyways. On that note, I've told Yagami-san, the Task Force, and the other Ls to assume Yagami Light is Kira if I die in the next few days."

"What?" Naoko and Hiroko shouted while Light simply looked stunned.

"You're joking, right, Ryuzaki?" Hiroko looked hopefully at L. She frowned as he simply shrugged. "You can't go around just telling people that! You don't know if Light is really Kira or not!"

Naoko twisted a piece of her hair nervously in her fingers, upset at the thought that Light was still suspected of being Kira. She looked up as Light squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Light-san…"

L climbed off the bench. "Well, you were saying how you miss me at school, so I thought this might be a nice change of piece. College is fun as long as you don't die."

Hiroko rolled her eyes as Light laughed. "Most things are fun as long as you don't die."

"Shall we get some cake from the cafeteria?" L asked. He rolled his eyes as Hiroko squealed excitedly.

Naoko was about to chastise Hiroko for being so loud in public when a much louder, more obnoxious voice came from behind her. Naoko spun around as the voice had called Light's name. Her eyes widened as a tiny blonde girl bounded excitedly over to them. Her throat had gone suddenly dry as she felt the aura coming off of this girl.

The blonde girl stopped in front of them, her smile still present. "I have a shoot near here so I came by, Light. I've got to be back by two o'clock though." Her eyes landed on the twins and she squealed. "Oh, wow, they're so cute." She bent down and smiled at the two. "Hello, I'm Amane Misa. What's you're name?"

Naoko released her grip on Light's hand as Misa reached for her. She slapped Misa's hand away and hid behind Light. She tried to speak, but her voice wouldn't work for some strange reason.

"Naoko, what's wrong?" Hiroko glared suspiciously at Misa.

Misa blinked before turning her attention to L. "Another of your friends, Light? He's really unique and cool looking."

L inclined his head. "I'm Hideki Ryuga. This is Hiroko and the quiet one is Naoko." He frowned at how pale Naoko was. Something was wrong.

Misa tilted her head to the side quizzically. "Hideki Ryuga?"

"Yeah." Light said quickly. "He's got the same name as that idol singer. Neat, huh?" Light looked down at where Naoko was trembling behind him and he realized she must know who Misa was. He was surprised she hadn't said anything to L. It almost seemed as though she couldn't speak, as though there were something preventing her from doing so.

"Yagami-kun, I'm jealous." L mumbled. "I've been a huge fan since the March issue of 'Eighteen'."

Light picked Naoko up, rubbing a soothing hand over her back. "Naoko, are you okay?"

Naoko shook her head, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She shrank back as Misa reached out and stroked her hair. "Don't…" Was all she managed to croak out. She blinked as there was suddenly a large crowd surrounding them, gushing over Misa.

"Hey, someone touched my butt!" Misa screeched.

Hiroko rolled her eyes. "Who'd want to…" She yelped as L whapped her upside the head.

"That is unforgivable. Hiroko, Naoko, we must catch the culprits!" L announced loudly.

Naoko felt herself relaxing suddenly. Something had been distressing her, but now, she couldn't remember what it was. She looked over Light's shoulder and swore she saw a hand detracting from touching her head.

"Are you okay, Naoko?" Light asked.

"I…think so…" Naoko frowned thoughtfully.

"Misa, you're going to be late!" Misa's manager appeared and yanked her away.

"See you later, Light! It was nice meeting you, Ryuga, Naoko, Hiroko!" Misa shouted as her manager dragged her away.

"Girls, wait for me and Yagami-kun in the cafeteria until we're done with class." L instructed. "We have Psychology together, don't we?"

"Yeah." Light answered as he placed Naoko on the ground. He crouched down in front of her and made sure she'd be able to stand on her own before kissing the side of her head and letting her go. "I'll catch up to you once I've used the bathroom."

"Come on, girls. I'll walk you to the cafeteria." L took both girls hands and led them away. "What happened back there, Naoko? You looked rather pale."

Naoko frowned. "I don't know…something about Misa…I can't remember…everything is really fuzzy…" She blinked as a phone began ringing.

L smirked as he pulled the phone out. "Hello?" He asked.

"That's Misa's phone." Light grit out as he came up behind them.

"Oh, she must have dropped it in the crowd." L smiled as he handed the phone back to Light. He looked down as the phone in his pocket began ringing. "Now it's mine…Hello?" He listened for a moment before hanging up. "I'm sure this will be a case of good news and bad news for you, Yagami-kun. Amane Misa has been apprehended on suspicion of being the Second Kira."

Naoko's eyes widened as everything came flooding back to her. "That's what it was earlier! Misa has the same aura as the Second Kira!"

"Why didn't you say something when she was standing right there!" Hiroko asked her twin in alarm.

"I…I couldn't…" Naoko mumbled. "It was like something wasn't letting me speak."

"We're keeping her arrest a secret for now since it would cause a worldwide frenzy." L said calmly. "Are you all right, Yagami-kun? Suddenly hearing your girlfriend is suspected of being the Second Kira, I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now." He blinked as Naoko tugged on his hand. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry…" Naoko bit her lip. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything when she was there. I tried, I really did."

L patted Naoko's head. "Don't worry about it. It's probably better that you said nothing. It would've caused panic if all those people had heard you saying she was the Second Kira. Now then, we should be getting back to headquarters."

"Girls, I want you to go straight to your room, understand?" L said as they stepped into the room where the Task Force was going over evidence. "You are not to come out unless I send for you."

"But, why?" Hiroko protested.

"Do as I say." L said before going over to his chair to sit down.

Hiroko and Naoko obeyed, but not before seeing the image of Misa completely restrained appear on the screen. "Isn't that a bit much?" Hiroko asked as they shut the door to their room.

"If she's the Second Kira, I don't think so." Naoko said softly. She dug under the bed for the book. She began furiously flipping through the pages.

"What are you looking for?" Hiroko asked as she sat beside her sister on the floor.

"I want to know why I couldn't speak today." Naoko whispered. "And, I want to know about the thing that's been following Light-san around."


	18. Confinement

**Sakura02: Yeah, the restraints are a bit strange, but then, you have to remember it is L that had her arrested. He's a bit of a strange one.**

**Sakura Ichijo Morihiko: I can't tell you yet who the father is. You'll have to keep reading to find out :)**

**Thanks: InTheLight-Hija, LightningStar 0. o, oOlslollypopOo, Hannah, Saiyuri Haruno, and Princesa de la Luna for reviewing.**

* * *

"Still nothing?" Hiroko asked, peering over her twin's shoulder as Naoko continued furiously thumbing through the book. The twins had been confined to their room for a few days ever since Misa had been arrested.

Naoko sighed and sat up, pouting. "No…" She blinked as Aizawa suddenly came into the room and tensed at the look on his face. "What's wrong, Aizawa-san?"

Aizawa sighed and rubbed the back of his neck irritably. "Girls, you may want to come say goodbye to Light."

"Why?" Naoko asked, alarmed. "Is he going somewhere?"

"Light has stepped forward saying he may in fact be Kira. He's agreed to be confined for an undetermined amount of time to try and prove his innocence. You won't be allowed to speak to him during this time and the only time you'll see him is if and when Ryuzaki allows you to be in the room where the video feed is being monitored." Aizawa flinched as Naoko's eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Naoko, wait for me!" Hiroko shouted, running to catch up to her sister with Aizawa close behind her.

Light heard the girls coming and knelt down in time to catch Naoko in his arms. "Shhh, don't cry, Naoko. It's going to be okay."

"No it's not!" Naoko cried, clinging even tighter to Light. "This is stupid, Light-san. Please don't do this."

Light smiled patiently at Naoko as he held her at arms length. "Naoko, I need to do this. It's the only way I can think to prove not only to Ryuzaki, but myself as well that I'm not Kira. Be a good girl while I'm gone, okay?" He smiled as Hiroko came over as well and hugged him. "You two look out for each other. No more throwing apples at Matsuda, telepathically or otherwise."

Naoko couldn't help laughing at that and nodded her head. She sniffled and fought back her tears as Aizawa blindfolded and handcuffed Light before placing headphones over his ears.

L blinked as Hiroko was suddenly furiously punching him in the leg while Naoko began bawling. He held Hiroko away from him with his hand to her face. "May I help you?"

"Why'd you have to go and upset Naoko like that?" Hiroko shouted, her fist still flying in vain, only hitting the air. "Why'd you have to lock Light up?"

L sighed. "He volunteered for it. It was completely his idea."

Soichiro picked Naoko up and patted her back. "There, there, Naoko. Everything is going to be all right. This will prove once and for all that Light is innocent. You just have to be patient." He fell silent after that and put Naoko down on the ground. "Ryuzaki, I wish to be taken off the Task Force."

"No!" The girls shouted in unison, both clinging desperately to Soichiro's waist. "You can't leave us, Soichiro!" Hiroko said, burying her face in his side. Soichiro had been there for the girls since the beginning. When their mother had been alive, he had been the one that so desperately tried to help them.

Soichiro didn't respond to the girls, only placed a comforting hand on each of their heads. "My son is under suspicion of being Kira. When we were discussing Light's confinement, I was the only one that allowed my emotions to get in the way. I have no right to be here."

L nodded. "Yes, personal feelings shouldn't be involved." He frowned down at Hiroko as she came over and began punching him in the leg again. "Could you stop that?"

"Hiroko, stop." Soichiro said firmly.

Hiroko immediately lowered her arms and stared at Soichiro. He'd never spoken to her that way before. "Soichiro…"

Soichiro took a deep breath before continuing. "If my son is indeed Kira, I…I don't know what I might do."

L nodded again. He blinked as Hiroko took up her customary place beside him and actually began cuddling into his side. He didn't think he'd ever seen the girl so distraught before. He offered her a piece of the melon he had been eating and almost smiled as Hiroko took the fruit and nibbled lightly at it. "I could see you killing your son and then yourself. While I do think it may be wise to remove you from the case, I do not wish to see you resign from the police."

"He's right." Naoko said softly, still clinging to Soichiro. "You need to keep helping people like me and Hiroko."

"My son being suspected of Kira is reason enough for me to resign from the police." Soichiro said patiently, smoothing Naoko's hair down.

L chewed thoughtfully on his food. "The only people that know that your son is suspected is the Task Force and the twins. If you still wish to resign, please wait until we've confirmed that your son is indeed Kira."

Soichiro was quiet for a moment before nodding his head. "You're right. Quitting now would be like running away. I want to see my son exonerated with my own eyes…" He was silent again for a moment as he watched Light in his cell on the monitor. "Confine me too, Ryuzaki!" Soichiro suddenly shouted. "I'm calm now, but who knows when my feelings for my son may overpower me!"

"What?" Hiroko sat up suddenly, smacking her head against L's chin. She let out a yelp of pain and clutched her head tightly.

"Not you too, Soichiro-san!" Naoko whimpered.

L rubbed his chin irritably. "I thought you may suggest such a thing, so I've already had Watari prepare for it. Unlike Light-kun's confinement, you will be able to keep your cellphone on and keep in contact with your family and people on the outside. We will not inform Light-kun of this and you will be kept up to date about everything going on. Is that acceptable?"

Soichiro bowed his head. "Thank you, Ryuzaki." He knelt down and hugged Naoko and Hiroko when both the twins were standing before him. "I know this is hard on you two. I wish there was another way to do this that wouldn't leave you two like this, but there's no other way."

Hiroko and Naoko both hugged him tightly. "We'll be strong, Soichiro." Hiroko said, refusing to cry.

"We'll be good for Ryuzaki-san and the others." Naoko promised.

For the next six days, the girls refused to be confined to their rooms. They stayed out in the room with L, Matsuda, and Aizawa watching and listening to the news that no new criminals had been killed since Light had been confined. Naoko was taking the news worse than Hiroko. She barely ate anything without Hiroko coaxing her and spent her nights tossing and turning.

On the seventh day, Hiroko had once again managed to get Naoko to eat some fruit while L spoke to Light. "Are you all right, Light-kun?" L asked.

Light sat crouched beside his small cot. "I know I must look rather bad. This pride, though…I'll just have to get rid of it."

A strange thing happened after that. Naoko and Hiroko frowned as they watched Light's eyes change dramatically. "Light-san?"

"Ryuzaki, I know I'm the one that suggested this confinement, but I just realized this is completely pointless!" Light shouted suddenly. "I'm not Kira! Let me out of here!"

The group in the room looked around at each other uncertainly. "Naoko, do you sense anything?"

Naoko shook her head slowly. "It's hard to read auras through the screen like this. It's faint, but…something has definitely changed."

"I can't let you go, Light-kun." Ryuzaki said. "You told me yourself not to let you go until I was absolutely certain you aren't Kira."

"I know that!" Light said impatiently. "Something was wrong with me when I said that! Do you honestly think Kira could kill all those people while he was unconscious? I don't know what powers Kira possesses but he is doing it of his own free will! I have no memories of being Kira so I'm not Kira!"

"Girls, come here." Aizawa said patiently as Light continued arguing with L.

Another week passed with Light continuing to beg L to let him out. The twins still refused to be confined to their room and even brought their book out to see if there was anything in there that could help with what was going on. It was on the fifteenth day that criminals began being killed again.

"That means Light-san isn't Kira!" Naoko exclaimed excitedly. She rushed over to L and tugged impatiently on his sleeve. "You're going to let him go now, right?"

"Have you told the chief yet, Ryuzaki?" Matsuda asked as he rushed into the room.

"No." L frowned as Matsuda picked up the microphone connected to Soichiro's room. "Chief, Kira has started killing again!"

"Then that means my son…" Soichiro's voice trailed off. "No…this is Ryuzaki we're talking about…He won't clear him…"

Ryuzaki looked first at Soichiro's crestfallen face, then Naoko's hopeful one, and then between Aizawa and Matsuda. He glowered down at Hiroko when she harshly pinched him. "He's…in the grey…"

"Can we tell Light-san now?" Naoko asked hopefully, reaching out for the microphone connected to Light's room. She flinched as L grabbed her wrist away. "Ryuzaki-san?"

"Don't tell Light-kun yet." L said calmly. He turned on the microphone to Light's room. "Light-kun, the killings have stopped since you've been in confinement. Just admit that you are Kira."

"No!" Light shouted stubbornly. "This is a trap! I'm not Kira! Zoom in and look at my eyes! Are these the eyes of someone who is lying? Let me out of here!"

L frowned and then moved to speak to Misa. "Amane, you really don't know who Kira is?"

Misa sighed. "I wish I did. Kira's a hero. He punished the criminal that killed my parents."

Hiroko and Naoko looked at each other. Something strange was going on. Naoko had told Hiroko that when Light started acting strangely, the presence she had felt following Light around had disappeared. Hiroko turned to say something to L, but saw he was very troubled by what was going on. Not for the first time, Hiroko and Naoko both thought of what their mother had always told them. They wondered if shinigami were somehow involved in everything going on.


	19. Confinement Ends

**Hannah: No, I haven't done anything with TMNT and I'm not sure if I will or not.**

**Sakura02: Yes, Werewolf Man is about to make his creepy pedo appearance**

**sOmEoNe: Oh yes, I know. I've got two now and am debating on a third, possibly a fourth tattoo.**

**Thank you: LightningStar 0.o, Sayuri Haruno, Anon, Princesa de la Luna, Hawkbelly, and Tailsdoll123 for your reviews**

* * *

It had been fifty-three days since Light had been confined. The twins had continued studying in a vain attempt to explain the mysterious change in Light. Despite the continued killings by Kira, L still refused to release Light or Misa.

"This is insane!" Hiroko slammed the book closed and stormed over to the door. "I'm going to beat that idiot Ryuzaki until he lets Light go!"

"Wait for me, Hiroko!" Naoko protested, running after her sister into the main room where L, Matsuda, and Aizawa were assembled, watching the television rather intently. "Ryuzaki-san…"

L whipped around before either Hiroko or Naoko could say anything. "What are you two doing out here? Go back to your room right now!"

Hiroko flinched at L's harsh tone. "Why should we? You aren't our dad. We don't have to listen to you. Tell him, Naoko…" Hiroko's voice trailed off when she noticed how intently Naoko was staring at the screen. "What's wrong, Naoko?"

Naoko didn't answer. She rushed over to L's side beside his chair and watched the screen. "Where's Soichiro-san taking Light-san and Misa-san?"

L sighed as Hiroko came to stand by his other side. "Girls, I highly suggest that you two go back to your room. I don't need the two of you causing a scene."

"A scene? Why would we cause a scene?" Hiroko asked.

_"Light," _Soichiro's voice floated through the speakers of the television. _"I'm going to kill you here and then kill myself."_

"He's joking, right?" Hiroko asked nervously as Light and Misa's shouts of protest and fear came through. She looked to L for answers, but found his focus was solely on the screen. "Ryuzaki, he's joking, right? You have no proof that Light is Kira! The killings started again! Why are you letting Soichiro do this?"

"Ryuzaki-san, make Soichiro-san stop!" Naoko screamed as Soichiro pulled out a gun. She beat furiously against Matsuda as the young policeman tried to pull her to him and speak to her. Tears were pouring from her eyes as she watched helplessly while Soichiro put the gun to Light's head. She looked to Ryuzaki for answers, but he wouldn't even look at her. Her sobs nearly drowned out Hiroko's furious screaming as Aizawa tried to restrain her. "Light-san!" She screamed and closed her eyes as she heard the gunshot. She didn't want to see Light's dead body.

_"Did you see that, Ryuzaki?" _Soichiro's voice said softly. _"I did as you said and I'm still alive."_

Ryuzaki nodded his head. "Brilliant acting, Yagami-san. If Amane was indeed the Second Kira I believe we can safely conclude that she would have killed you before you shot Light-kun."

"What's going on?" Hiroko wailed, having finally gone limp and allowing Aizawa to pick her up.

"Naoko-chan, please calm down." Matsuda whined as he held the hysterical girl in his arms. "I was trying to tell you earlier; this was all an act set up by Ryuzaki to prove that Light and Misa weren't Kira and the Second Kira! It's okay! Light isn't hurt!"

L sighed and rubbed his temples as the two girls continued crying. "This is why I wanted you two to stay in your rooms…" He groaned in annoyance as a clearly distraught Hiroko wriggled out of Aizawa's arms and took her customary spot beside him. "Stop crying. Nobody died."

"You're so mean, Ryuzaki!" Hiroko cried.

Naoko continued crying until Light, Misa, and Soichiro finally arrived. As soon as Matsuda put her down, Naoko ran over to Light and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed his cheeks over and over as she continued crying and attempting to hiccup words out.

"Shhh, calm down." Light soothed, rubbing the little girl's back. "It's okay. I'm sorry you were so scared. I'm okay. I'm here now. You need to breathe, Naoko."

Naoko took in deep, shuddering breaths until her tears finally subsided and turned into hiccups. "I was…so…scared…you…were really…going to…die." She managed to gasp out between hiccups.

L bit back a yelp at the sharp pinch he received from Hiroko. "What was that for?" He grit out.

Hiroko glared up at him, most of her tears dried up now. "You made Naoko cry. Apologize to her, now!"

L rolled his eyes, but stood up from his chair with Hiroko immediately attaching to his hand. He went over to Light whom was now holding Naoko and gently patted the Naoko's head. "I'm sorry that you were frightened, Naoko."

Hiroko blinked as L gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She looked questioningly up at him, but he refused to meet her eyes. She grinned when she realized he was apologizing to her too. She hugged his arm tightly and didn't notice Watari walking in with a set of handcuffs with a rather long chain. She blinked as L pulled his hand from hers. "Ryuzaki, what're the handcuffs for?"

Naoko remained in Light's arms as Watari placed one end of the handcuff around Light's wrist and the other around L's. "What's going on?" She asked softly, her voice hoarse from screaming and crying.

Light raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Is this really necessary, Ryuzaki?"

"I'm not doing this because I want to." L muttered, allowing Hiroko to retake his hand.

Misa gave a disgusted look at L. "Two guys chained together is gross. You were always following Light around at school too…" Misa yelped as Hiroko gave her a swift kick to the shins. "That was mean, Hiroko-chan!"

"Don't call me –chan!" Hiroko hissed. "That would mean we're friends and I don't like you! Naoko doesn't either."

Light was rather surprised when Naoko nodded in agreement. "That's not very nice, Naoko."

Misa stuck her tongue out at the twins before turning her attention back to L. "Light belongs to me. How am I supposed to go on dates with Light if you're always there."

"You aren't." Naoko grit out. There was something about the girl she didn't like. It could have something to do with her strikingly similar aura to the Second Kira's, both being loud and pink. Misa's aura had changed subtly from the first time Naoko had met her which troubled the younger twin greatly. People's auras didn't just change.

L ignored Naoko's input. "The dates will naturally be with the three of us."

"Five." Hiroko corrected. "Naoko and I have to make sure you keep your hands to yourself."

"You mean we have to kiss in front of you three?" Misa wailed.

"No." Naoko said. "Keep your lips as well as your hands to yourself."

L shrugged, though he was rather surprised at Naoko's hostility towards Misa. He had never seen her so riled before. He was least surprised by Hiroko. She didn't seem to ever have a problem with showing her displeasure. "I never said you had to do anything. However, I…we will be watching."

"Are you serious!" Misa shouted. "Not only are you a pervert, but you're turning these sweet little girls into perverts too!"

"Light, make the idiot shut up." Hiroko whined.

Light sighed as Naoko's grip around his neck tightened. He kissed the side of her head reassuringly and smiled warmly at her before looking at Misa. "Don't be so difficult, Misa. You're definitely the one that sent in the Second Kira tapes. You should be grateful for the freedom that you're being given."

Misa looked at him with shock while both Hiroko and Naoko grinned. "Why are you saying that, Light? I'm your girlfriend. Don't you trust your own lover?"

Light sighed at the horrified look Naoko gave him. "You're not my lover. All I know is you came up to me one day and said you fell in love with me and first sight and now you won't leave me alone."

"So, you're a stalker?" Naoko asked the horrified looking Misa. She blinked as Misa was suddenly hitting Light on the chest. "Hey, leave Light-san alone!" Naoko smacked Misa on the forehead until the girl backed off.

"Why'd you kiss me then if I'm not your lover?" Misa wailed.

"You kissed her?" Naoko shrieked.

Light sighed and hugged Naoko tighter. "Misa, please stop upsetting Naoko."

L sauntered over with Hiroko attached to his hand. "You fell in love with Light in Aoyama on May 22nd, correct?" At Misa's affirmative nod, L continued his questioning. "Why did you go to Aoyama that day? What were you wearing?"

Hiroko frowned, finding the questions rather strange until she remembered that they had gone to Aoyama after the diary that had been sent to Sakura TV named the location. She glared even more suspiciously at Misa.

Misa frowned. "I just went because I felt like it. I don't remember what I was wearing."

"How'd you learn Light-san's name? You didn't talk to him that day. Hiroko and I were with him and I don't remember seeing you there." Naoko asked curiously.

Misa shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."

L looked thoughtfully at Misa for a moment. "How would you feel if Light-kun was Kira?"

Misa looked thoughtful for a minute before grinning and hugging Light's free arm. "Awesome. I've always been grateful to Kira for punishing the man that killed my parents. If Light was Kira, I'd like him even more."

Naoko and Hiroko were both surprised at that news. They hadn't known about Misa's parents being murdered. Their sympathy for her was short lived as Misa giggled loudly and hugged Light even tighter.

L blinked and backed away. "Anyways, you will be put under surveillance. I've given you a room that connects to Light-kun's. Your door can only be opened with this cardkey." He held up the cardkey for Misa and the others to see. "If you want out, simply call us and we'll let you out. On private outings and modeling jobs, Matsuda-san will accompany you as your manager, Matsui-san. We've already paid off your agency, but they don't know he's a cop. Please keep this information to yourself."

Misa frowned at Matsuda. "I don't want this guy as my manger."

Matsuda pouted. "What's wrong with me, Misa-Misa?"

Naoko looked over at Aizawa nervously. She could feel the irritation rolling off of him. "Aizawa-san…" She flinched as he abruptly stood from his seat and slammed his hands down on the table in front of him.

"Give it a rest with all this dating, kissing, and Misa-Misa crap!" Aizawa shouted furiously. "This is the damn Kira Case, so take it seriously!"

"Sorry…" Matsuda said lamely.

Aizawa sighed when he saw the twins looking at him with wide eyes. He straightened up and walked over to them, first ruffling Hiroko's hair and then Naoko's. "I'm sorry, girls. You too, Matsuda. I know you're taking the case seriously…anyways, go to your room, Amane."

Hiroko grinned and waved at Misa as Aizawa shoved her into her and tried to shut the door.

"Let's go on a date soon, Light! Even if it is the three of us!" Misa shouted.

"Five!" Naoko and Hiroko both shouted as Aizawa managed to close the door on Misa.

"Light-kun, are you serious about Amane?" L asked, coming closer to Light. He looked down at Hiroko whom was still clinging to his hand and did something that surprised everyone, including Hiroko; he actually picked the little girl up so she was eye level with her twin.

Light raised an eyebrow. "No. It's all one-sided on her part." He smiled as he felt Naoko sag against him in relief. He didn't need to read auras to know Naoko didn't care for Misa in the slightest.

L nodded slowly. "Could you act serious about her then? We all know she was involved with the Second Kira tapes and she is in love with you…"

Naoko frowned. She may not like Misa, but she knew what L was suggesting would break the girl's heart. "That's not a nice thing to do, Ryuzaki-san. It's mean to lie to people like that."

Light nodded in agreement. "Even if it is to solve the Kira Case, I could never manipulate a woman's feelings like that. To me, taking advantage of a person's emotions like that is the most despicable thing anyone can do."

"Bad Ryuzaki for trying to make Light do something so bad." Hiroko chastised, lightly whapping L on the forehead. She yelped as L let her go and barely caught her before she hit the floor.

"Maybe next time you'll think twice before hitting the person that's holding you." L grumbled.

"Hey, Ryuzaki-san, are we going to be changing hotels again soon?" Naoko asked tiredly. She and Hiroko were both tired of always having to change locations.

"Actually," L walked over to his computer, dragging Light along behind him. "I've had this in construction since I first met face to face with Yagami-san and subsequently got stuck with this hellion." He bumped his head against Hiroko's as he pulled up a picture of a giant high rise building to show everyone. "There are twenty-three floors above ground and two below. There are two helicopters on the roof, but you can't see them from the outside. There are various security check points that you must go through in order to get in. The fifth through the twentieth floor are all living floors with four private rooms on each floor, so I'd like everyone to live there as much as possible. Should we increase our numbers, we can have up to sixty people. Hiroko and Naoko will have their own floor together as well as Misa."

"That all sounds really expensive." Naoko said thoughtfully.

"This simply means that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to catch Kira." L said, not bothering to argue with Naoko.

Light nodded his head in agreement. "It's bad enough that he's a mass murderer, but Kira has caused my father and I so much trouble. Let's catch him, no matter what."

"If you got close to Amane, it would help." L suggested.

"Stop trying to make Light into a bad person!" Hiroko and Naoko both shouted.

Aizawa couldn't help letting a small laugh escape, causing everyone to look at him. "I'm sorry…I know it's not funny. I'm just so pumped now. Ryuzaki, Chief, Light, Hiroko, Naoko…let's all catch Kira together."

"You didn't say my name…" Matsuda whined.

"That's because you're useless." Hiroko pointed out.

"Hiroko, that's mean!" Naoko protested.

Light smiled at the twins. He made a silent promise to them that they would catch Kira so that the two of them could grow up in a world free of the fear of Kira. He would make sure it happened, no matter what the cost.


	20. Date

**perfectpanda37: He is Kira, but he's lost all of his memories of being Kira. Right now, he genuinely wants to capture Kira and stop his evil ways. **

**Sakura02: Lol, I'm sure he did. He's like a little monkey XD**

**Saiyuri Haruno: Yes, Naoko really doesn't care for Misa. I never really got into the series Samurai Champloo. Is it any good?**

**deepoblivion: No, BB is not the girls' father**

**BlackRosario: Aw, thank you! That's really a huge compliment and I appreciate it :)**

**Thanks: BANEHiwatari, Tailsdoll123, LightningStar 0.o, Hannah, Sakura Ichijo Morihiko, Tetra Muffins, someone, and Storygirl95 for reviewing!**

* * *

Naoko smiled happily up at Light as he handed her a plate with a small slice of strawberry shortcake. She looked around Misa's room as she took the first bite of her cake. She was sitting on one of the couches in Misa's living room beside Light with Hiroko on her other side and L beside Hiroko. Misa was sitting on the couch opposite of them, looking clearly displeased.

Hiroko grinned as she chomped down on a rather large piece of cake. "Is this what dates are like? They're pretty boring if you ask me."

"Nobody asked you." Misa sighed irritably. "Besides, this doesn't feel like a date at all. Can't you three just go away?"

"No." Hiroko and Naoko both said in unison, before then proceeding to take a bite of cake in unison as well.

L raised an eyebrow, but said nothing to the twins. He really didn't understand children, nor did he think he'd ever want to. "Just pretend that we're not here." He tilted his head curiously to the side, noting for the first time that Misa had not yet touched her delicious cake. This was a travesty that he just could not allow to continue. "Are you going to eat your cake, Misa-san?"

Misa wrinkled her nose in distaste. She slouched even further down in her seat, completely frustrated with how her 'date' with Light was going. "Sweets make you fat. You two should stop eating so many sweets." She said to the girls.

Hiroko stuck her tongue out before chomping down on yet another piece of her cake. "Ryuzaki says sweets won't make you fat as long as you use your brain. Besides, Mommy always told me and Naoko that we have a high me…meta…metib…"

"Metabolism." Naoko piped up, having just finished off her own cake. She looked around for a napkin, and when she found none, she simply licked her fingers clean. "She said we had a high metabolism because of our powers. I guess some people aren't lucky enough to be a super genius like Ryuzaki-san or have really high metabolism like me and Hiroko."

"You guys are all making fun of me!" Misa whined, not missing how Light had to bite his lip to stop from laughing. She pouted over at L. "If I give you the cake, will you leave me and Light alone?"

L shrugged, already reaching for her cake. "Sure. I'll just watch you two on the monitors."

"Why're you such a pervert?" Misa howled in frustration.

"You may call me whatever names you wish, but I'm still taking your cake." L said softly. He could see the twins out of the corner of his eye staring at his cake. With a sigh of resignation, he cut off a thin slice for both of them and put it on their plates.

"Naoko, slow down." Light chastised gently. "You're going to give yourself a stomach ache." He turned his attention back to L, frowning when he noticed the sad and desolate look on the super detective's face. "Ryuzaki, we have this great facility now, but you don't seem very into the investigation anymore…"

"Yeah," Hiroko piped up, leaning against L's side lightly. She frowned as he only half-heartedly nudged her away. "Is it because you shared your cake with me and Naoko? I'll give you my slice back so please don't be sad anymore."

L sighed and rested his head on top of Hiroko's, surprising everyone. "It's not that…I'm just feeling rather depressed right now. For the longest time, I thought Light-kun was Kira. I'm rather shocked that I was wrong, though I do still suspect you…"

The twins watched in mild fascination as L continued deducing why he was so depressed and still managed to devour his cake. Hiroko swallowed her last bite of cake slowly. "So, basically, you think Kira's powers can pass from one person to another? That's kind of scary."

"Won't that make it hard to catch Kira then?" Naoko asked worriedly.

L sighed. "That's exactly why I'm depressed." He blinked as both twins were suddenly standing in front of him, both placing a hand on both his knees.

Naoko and Hiroko beamed brightly up at L. "Cheer up, Ryuzaki!" Hiroko said.

"Hiroko and I are working really hard to get better control of our powers." Naoko added. "That way, we'll be an even bigger help to all of you. You can't give up, Ryuzaki-san."

Light smiled, nodding approvingly at the two girls. He placed a hand on L's shoulder and gave him a confident smile. "Show some energy, Ryuzaki. This investigation isn't over yet."

L looked between Light and the girls before sighing again. "Why even bother? Going after him puts us all in danger. I've thought I was going to die so many times already…"

"Light-san…?" Naoko asked softly as Light suddenly stood up. Her scream of shock was in perfect harmony with Hiroko's own scream as Light punched L right in the face. "What are you doing, Light-san?"

"You're being ridiculous, Ryuzaki!" Light shouted angrily, ignoring the girls protesting behind them. "So what if I'm not Kira? So what if you were wrong? You're just going to cry like a baby about it?"

Both girls crawled behind the couch as Light and L continued punching and kicking each other as they continued arguing and shouting at each other. Hiroko frowned as Naoko's lower lip began quivering. She hugged her twin protectively and glared over at the two fighting boys. "Stop it right now! You're upsetting Naoko! If you keep upsetting her, I'll beat both of you!"

Naoko did her best to wipe her tears away as L and Light continued shouting. It didn't help that Misa was screaming at the two to stop fighting. She'd always hated when she heard people fighting. Even if it didn't involve her, even if she was just there, she'd always cry. Their mother and father had fought a few times and Naoko had always wound up crying with Hiroko hugging her and trying to calm her down. She blinked as the phone began ringing suddenly.

L and Light both stopped fighting. While L went over to answer the phone, Light went over to the twins. He smiled gently and pried Naoko from Hiroko and hugged the small girl. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, Naoko. Please don't cry. Are you okay, Hiro…" He sighed when he realized Hiroko was attempting to punch L in the side while said detective kept her at bay with the palm of his hand holding her back. "What's wrong?" Light asked as L hung up the phone.

L sighed and scooped Hiroko up under his arm. "Nothing important. Matsuda is just being an idiot again." He glared down at the little girl under his arm as she kicked and punched him. "If you don't stop it, I won't give you anymore cake."

Hiroko's eyes widened in horror. "But…but…my cake…" She pouted and immediately stopped attacking L. She glared accusingly up at L. "Just don't fight like that in front of Naoko again. If you do, I'll beat you up."

Light glanced up as Misa crawled out from behind the other couch she'd been hiding behind. He picked Naoko up and smiled as the little girl buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Yes, well, Matsuda is a bit on the slow side…" His smile widened as Naoko actually giggled.

* * *

"That's amazing, Naoko-chan!" Matsuda watched the apple Naoko was currently making spin, twist, and dance around the air.

Naoko grinned proudly. She frowned as Hiroko's apple came whizzing over and slammed right into hers. "That's not nice, Hiroko!"

Hiroko simply grinned. Both girls looked up as Light and L were suddenly talking in excited, quiet voices. They exchanged curious glances as Matsuda rushed over to where the two were. Grinning evilly, Hiroko sent her apple flying at the back of L's head. She frowned as L simply ignored her. The twins looked at each other again before deciding to go over and see what was going on.

"What's with all the names?" Hiroko asked, climbing into L's lap since there was no room for her to squeeze in beside him.

Light scooped Naoko up and plopped the quieter twin into his lap. "These are people that have been killed by Kira in the past three months. We think Kira may be helping this business group called Yotsuba."

Naoko frowned as she looked at all the names and all the different ways the people had died. Some had died of disease, others of accidents, and two had even committed suicide. "Not all of them died of heart attacks, though…"

Hiroko's eyes widened as L looked down at her, as though he expected her to come to the same conclusion that he and Light had. "Kira can kill with more than just heart attacks!"

The girls stayed in the room as L, Light, and Matsuda explained their findings to Aizawa as soon as he arrived. They were so excited by how excited everyone else was, they forgot to show Aizawa how much they had improved in their powers. "Soichiro-san! Mogi-san!"

Soichiro smiled as the two girls latched onto Mogi's arms and the tall, silent police officer pulled the girls up and then put them back on the ground. He looked back over at the group that was looking over at them expectantly.

Matsuda came over, a bright smile on his face. "We've figured out that Kira may actually be connected to the Yotsuba Group!"

"Matsuda actually helped." Hiroko squealed out as Mogi lifted the girls particularly high. "He wasn't completely useless this time!"

"That's mean, Hiroko!" Naoko protested. She blinked at the serious look on Soichiro's face. "What's wrong, Soichiro-san?"

"I just got back from talking to the director." Soichiro said quietly. "He said Kira has started bribing politicians. The police have officially given up on chasing Kira down."

"What?" Naoko and Hiroko shouted in surprise, releasing Mogi's arms from their grasps. "They can't do that!" Hiroko said angrily. "They're supposed to stop bad guys, not just ignore them and pretend like they're not there!"

Soichiro nodded in agreement. He smiled down at the girls and ruffled their hair before looking up at Matsuda and Aizawa. "Both Mogi and I agree; we want to stay on the Task Force. Aizawa, Matsuda, if you want to keep going after Kira, you have resign from the NPA along with me and Mogi. We're no longer able to work on this case seriously if we stay on the police force."

"But, doesn't that mean you won't be able to help people like me and Hiroko?" Naoko asked softly. She blinked as Soichiro placed a comforting hand on her head.

"Stopping Kira will help people like you and Hiroko." Soichiro said confidently. He turned back to Aizawa and Matsuda. "We were informed that if we continued to work under L, we'd be fired. In a few hours, I'll no longer be the chief…Each of you has your own life and decision to make."

Matsuda nodded thoughtfully. "It would be hard to just quit if you've got a wife and kids."

"This isn't fair!" Hiroko protested, going back over to L. She crawled into his lap and continued pouting. "Police and people in charge are supposed to protect everyone; not try and help a mass murderer. Grown ups are the worst!"

"Hiroko…" Naoko went to L's side and looked worriedly at her twin. She hadn't seen her this upset in quite a while. Seeing Hiroko upset made Naoko upset. She quickly went over to Light and climbed into his lap, snuggling close into his side.

L placed a comforting hand on Hiroko's head. "You should all go back to the police. At the beginning, I was all alone. With all the help everyone has given me, I should be able to continue the investigation on my own. I promise, I will see you all again one day, and I'll have Kira's head with me."


	21. Aizawa Leaves

**I apologize for my random disappearance! I was working on my original novel and when I'm writing it, I have to focus everything on it. I've currently completed draft 3 of 6 and I'm very excited :) Thank you all for your patience and understanding!**

**Sakura02: Lol, of course now I think we might have to have a whole chapter with the boys getting sick…or the girls. I haven't decided yet.**

**Sayuri Haruno: I will definitely check Samurai Champloo out :)**

**Queen of Ashes: Well, yes, but he's such an amazing "bad man" that I just had to incorporate him into the story**

**Thank you: Hannah, Tailsdoll123, LightningStar 0.o, Tetra Muffins, and Sakura Ichigo Morihiko for reviewing!**

* * *

"You want us to leave?" Hiroko asked L, panic in her eyes as she latched onto his arm. "I don't want to leave, Ryuzaki, and Naoko doesn't either. Right, Naoko."

Naoko nodded quickly and came to stand on L's other side. "We'll stay with, Ryuzaki-san. Light-san will too…not that he really has any choice."

Light smiled and nodded. "She's right. As long as I'm around, you won't be alone, Ryuzaki."

L nodded slowly. "You're right, Yagami-kun. You're stuck with me until we catch Kira. You girls, however, should return home with Yagami-san. This is too dangerous an environment for two little girls." He blinked slowly as Hiroko began pulling on his cheek. "Stop it." He batted her hand away and seemed to deem the matter closed.

Soichiro frowned at just how distraught Naoko and Hiroko both looked at the thought of leaving headquarters. He hadn't realized just how attached the girls, especially Hiroko, had gotten to L. "Ryuzaki, you said yourself that you needed the help of the police for this case…"

L shrugged and began digging through a bowl of cherries. He glanced over when he felt eyes on him and saw Hiroko looked like she was on the verge of tears. He stared at her for a moment before pulling a couple of cherries out and giving them to her before patting her on the head. He gave Naoko a couple cherries as well and a pat on the head before eating a few cherries. "I did say that, but that was because I wanted to maintain a connection to the police. Two or three civilians do not count as the police."

Soichiro continued on, stubborn as ever. "While it's true we may not be as much help if we are no longer police, but what about our feelings on the matter? We've come so far on this case and we've risked our lives every step of the way. I think we've earned the right to choose for ourselves which path we want to take."

"You're right." L said, pulling out a cherry stem he had tied in his mouth. "Please choose…what is it with you and invading my personal space?"

Hiroko was suddenly in L's lap and looking curiously at the cherry stem. "How'd you do that? Can you teach me, please?"

"Absolutely not." L said lightly, moving over so Hiroko could once again take her place beside him. "You have no need for such a skill."

"And you do?" Naoko asked, genuinely curious. "What do you need to know how to do that for anyways?"

"We are not having this conversation right now." Light said, pulling Naoko over to him before he sat down and plopped the little girl into his lap.

Aizawa managed to crack a small smile before turning his attention back to Soichiro. "But, Chief, if we quit the force, we'll be unemployed. Even if we do manage to catch Kira, what about our futures? You and I have families. I don't know if I can sacrifice them to go after Kira…"

Soichiro looked first at Matsuda and Aizawa, and then over at the twins snuggled against either L or Light. He took a deep breath and smiled. "I haven't thought much about the future. After we catch Kira, though, there's always a new career!"

Matsuda grinned and pumped his fist excitedly. "I've decided! I'm going to quit the police and stay on the task force! It'd be pathetic to quit before catching Kira."

"Matsuda-san, you shouldn't say things like that…" Naoko said softly, giving Matsuda a reprimanding look before her eyes flickered worriedly over to Aizawa. "It's okay, Aizawa-san."

Aizawa clenched and unclenched his fist before speaking slowly, choosing his words carefully. "What if I return to the police and help out in my free time?"

L shook his head and continued eating his bowl of cherries. "That's not good. If you go back to the police, then please refrain from returning here. With the way things are going, I'll have to assume everyone from the police is the enemy."

Hiroko frowned up at him as she continued eating cherries and trying to tie the stems. "That seems a bit extreme, Ryuzaki."

"No," Aizawa said with a sigh. "he's right. Besides, the police would only see me as L's spy anyways. What about the benefit of having someone keep on eye on the police's movements?" Aizawa was clearly becoming desperate now, seeking a way to have the best of both worlds.

L sipped his tea, giving the rest of his bowl of cherries to Hiroko. "Go share with your sister." He muttered. His eyes followed Hiroko as she climbed out of the chair beside him and over to Naoko where the two girls then sat on the floor between him and Light. "Nobody is stopping you from returning to the police and trying to catch Kira on your own time, Aizawa-san. If you find out something you wish to tell us, you may call Yagami-san and inform him, though we will never share our information with you."

Aizawa sighed dejectedly. "You're right, Ryuzaki. I'm sorry for the lame suggestions." He blinked as Naoko and Hiroko were both suddenly holding his hands and looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Don't be sad, Aizawa-san." Naoko consoled.

L glanced over his shoulder at Aizawa and the girls. "I have no problem with an officer wanting to risk his life to catch Kira. However, I don't think it's right for you to quit your job and cause your family suffering. Dying in the line of duty is heroic, but dying unemployed is just stupid."

"Nobody will blame you for quitting." Soichiro piped up.

Matsuda nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yeah, none of us will view you as a traitor or anything." He yelped as Hiroko stepped on his foot. "What was that for?"

"You need to choose your words better." Hiroko chastised.

Aizawa looked dubiously over at Soichiro. "But, Chief, you have a family too…"

"Our situations are totally different." Soichiro pointed out. "My son was suspected of being Kira and placed in confinement for what Kira did. My ego won't allow me to just walk away. Besides, my kids are all grown up. Yours still need you as a father."

"What about the girls?" Aizawa asked. "You said yourself that it's too dangerous for them."

"I'm not scared of Kira!" Hiroko piped up. "Naoko and I are going to stay with Ryuzaki and Light until this creep is caught. Right, Naoko?"

Naoko nodded her head enthusiastically. "I want to use my powers to help catch Kira and then maybe Hiroko and I can find the man that killed our mom."

"This isn't fair!" Aizawa hissed, startling everyone. "Why can't a detective on the police force go after a criminal?"

_"Ryuzaki," _Watari's voice said over the computer, no longer distorted. _"when the case first began, you had me arrange for every member of the Task Force and their families to be financially secure no matter what happened, including being fired from the police force. You even had me set up an account for the twins. Why are you not mentioning any of this?"_

Ryuzaki glared at the screen. "Nobody asked you to speak, Watari."

_"I'm sorry."_ Watari apologized. _"I just couldn't bear to listen…"_

"So, there's money for us too?" Hiroko asked excitedly, rushing over to L's side. "Can I have it? Please?"

"No." L said firmly. "It's for your college education and since you aren't in college right now, you don't get it. Now be silent."

"This is awesome, Aizawa!" Matsuda said happily. "As long as you don't mind giving up the title of detective, you can stay on the case!"

Naoko shifted nervously and moved closer to Light. Aizawa's aura was flaring up, a sign that he was not at all pleased with what he had just learned. "Aizawa-san…"

"Ryuzaki, you were watching to see if I would quit the force or not." Aizawa accused, glaring at the back of L's head with contempt and rage.

Hiroko quickly rushed to L's defense. "No he wasn't! He's just shy about being so generous! He didn't even want to tell me and Naoko about paying for our college! Please don't' be angry, Aizawa."

"No." L said coolly. "I was testing him. I wanted to see which he'd choose without knowing about the money."

Aizawa was silent for a moment. "All right, I've decided. I'm quitting the Task Force and going back to the NPA. I couldn't decide immediately like the rest of you and I was leaning towards going back anyways. Two seven year old girls were able to make up their mind before I was! Besides, I don't like Ryuzaki and I hate the way he works."

L nodded, seemingly unfazed by everything Aizawa was saying. "That's a pretty standard reaction. Though, I do like people like you, Aizawa-san."

Aizawa hesitated for a moment before storming off. "I hate how you always say corny stuff like that!"

Light grabbed both the girls when they moved to chase after Aizawa. "It's okay, girls." He crouched down as the two girls hugged him tightly. "It's okay…"

It had been almost a week since Aizawa had left the group. Nobody really talked about it except for the occasional comment that it would be nice to have more people around to help out. The girls continued working on their powers and were slowly gaining more and more control over them. On the fifth day since Aizawa's departure, the girls were practicing their psychokinesis with apples again. They were able to make them twirl and fly through the air. Hiroko wanted to see what a splattered apple would look like against the door. As she sent it hurtling towards the door, it opened and a man and a woman she didn't recognize walked in.

"Watch out!" Hiroko and Naoko shouted together, Naoko having dropped her apple into her hands.

The man caught the apple with ease and gave the girls a disarming smile. "My, that's quite the talent you've got there." He bit into the apple and strode over confidently, with the woman beside him keeping pace. "I'm Aiber, a professional con artist. It's nice to meet you." He ruffled Naoko and Hiroko's hair in turn as he walked by them.

"I'm Wedy." The woman spoke up. "A thief."

L swiveled around in his chair as Hiroko came over to take her customary place beside him while Naoko went over to Light and held his hand and hid slightly behind him. "Aiber is an expert in languages, psychology, and personality transformation. He can blend into any and all levels of society and is always able to forge a strong bond with his target. He will help us to get close to Yotsuba. Wedy is a thief that can get through any lock, security system, and vault. Her skills have just been proven as she was able to enter without any of us being notified. They're both seasoned criminals."

"So, we're going to be working with bad people to catch a bad person?" Hiroko frowned as she tried to find the logic in it all.

"They aren't ordinary criminals." L supplied. "They are only known in the underground which is why even Kira doesn't know about them. This isn't a tactic I could use when we were connected with the police, but with the way things are going now…"

Light smiled at the two and shook Aiber and Wedy's hands. "Let's all work together to catch Kira." He looked down only to find Naoko hiding completely behind him now. "Naoko come say hello. You too, Hiroko."

Hiroko walked boldly over to Aiber and Wedy, grabbing Naoko's hand as she walked by and tugging her shy twin out to stand beside her. She grinned up at the two. "I'm Hiroko. It's nice to meet you even if you are bad people."

"I'm Naoko." Naoko said softly, bowing to both of them.

Matsuda sighed as his manger phone for Misa went off. "I have to take Misa to the movie set now…"

L nodded. "Girls, go with Matsuda and Misa-san. You two haven't been outside in a while."

The twins reluctantly complied. They knew L just wanted them out of the way so he could talk about the case with the others, but they didn't feel much like fighting him at that point. They followed Matsuda and Misa out of the headquarters and they all took a car to the movie set. Both Naoko and Hiroko were instructed to sit off to the side with Matsuda so they wouldn't be in the way.

"This is boring." Hiroko whined as Misa began complaining about having to kiss the lead male actor. "How do you sit through this everyday?" She asked Matsuda.

Matsuda shrugged, his gaze focused on Yotsuba's main Tokyo office. "You get used to it…" He blinked as he felt a gentle touch on his hand. He looked down and found Naoko looking up at him worriedly. He smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "I'm fine, Naoko-chan. Don't worry about me." He looked up as Misa came over after the director announced a two hour break. "Hey, Misa-Misa, we're staying late tonight, right?"

Misa glanced up. "Yes, past ten. Hey, where are you going?" She shouted as Matsuda was suddenly running off.

The twins looked nervously at Matsuda's retreating form. "I've got a bad feeling…" Naoko mumbled and silently prayed that Matsuda didn't get into any trouble.


	22. Matsuda Dies

**Hello again, everyone! I'm going to start putting updates on my profile every Sunday so that you can all see what's going on and whether I'll be updating the upcoming week or not. Also, I'll start revealing little tidbits and hints of new stories to come so check my profile every Sunday!**

**Sakura02: Yeah…L's a bit of a weirdo…but we still love him so :)**

**Thank you: Saiyuri Haruno, Tailsdoll123, LightningStar 0. o, Hannah, Tetra Muffins, Princesa de la Luna, fiery, and KanaMana for reviewing.**

**Over 200 reviews! You guys rock! Thank you so much and I hope you will all continue reading and enjoying this story.**

* * *

"Girls, wake up." Misa shook the two girls gently, but urgently. She really hadn't wanted to wake up the two girls as they looked so peaceful leaning against each other. She gave them a small smile as the two girls groggily sat up and looked around. "We've got to go save Matsuda. He did something stupid."

Naoko and Hiroko listened attentively as Misa explained to them that Matsuda had broken into Yotsuba and been caught. She led them to her trailer so that they could all change clothes. While Misa put on a rather skimpy looking outfit, she dressed the two girls each in simple Lolita costumes. Naoko frowned down at her black Lolita dress that was trimmed in white lace while Hiroko wore the inverted version of hers.

"So, we have to save Matsuda from the Yotsuba group that Kira is more than likely a part of?" Hiroko asked slowly as the trio walked briskly towards Yotsuba headquarters. When Misa nodded, Hiroko let out a sigh. "We're going to die…"

"Don't say that, Hiroko." Naoko protested. She tensed as they finally reached Yotsuba. She and Hiroko lingered just behind Misa and let her do all the talking. Naoko grabbed Hiroko's hand as they were escorted to an elevator and told where to go.

Misa smiled down at the two girls. "Don't worry, girls. I'll protect you."

Hiroko rolled her eyes. "I feel so much safer now." She couldn't hide her nervousness as the elevator door opened and Misa led them to a large meeting room. Her blue eyes scanned slowly over each face of the rather intimidating looking men in the room. Her eyes lit up as she saw a familiar face. "Matsui!"

Matsuda stumbled back as both girls launched themselves into his arms. "Hi girls. What are you two doing here?" He looked nervously at the girls and then over at Misa.

Misa simply grinned and bowed to the group of assembled men. "My name is Misa-Misa! I don't do nudes, but swimwear and lingerie is okay! These two are my little protégés, Naoko-chan and Hiroko-chan! I brought them along to show them how the business goes. Thank you for considering me!"

While Misa continued speaking with the businessmen, Naoko's eyes carefully scanned the group of men, trying to see if she could sense anything. She sensed a couple of very calm auras from some of the men, but most were panicked or nervous. She had no doubt in her mind that it was one of the cool and collected individuals that was Kira. She wanted nothing more than to go back to headquarters and inform L and the others. She knew they needed to save Matsuda first, though. She gave one of the men a nervous smile as she found him staring intently at her and her sister. He was the most elegant looking man in the room and seemed to be the most collected.

Misa grinned over at Matsuda. "I got the green light from the agency to give Yotsuba some special treatment. If you'll all come back to my place, we'll have a huge party with lots of girls from the agency!"

Hiroko sighed as she and Naoko took both Matsuda's hands and followed Misa out of the room with the Yotsuba group close behind them. "This is going to be a long night."

* * *

"So, what's it like being a stuffy businessman?" Hiroko looked up at one of the Yotsuba man, Namikawa Reiji. He didn't seem very interested in the loud party around them and simply lingered over by the large window.

"Hiroko, be polite!" Naoko quickly chastised, eyeing Reiji nervously. He seemed nice enough, but he was one of the ones she suspected of being Kira. The last thing she needed was her sister smarting off to him.

Reiji gave a small smile to the two girls. "You two seem very…out of place here."

Naoko and Hiroko both gave him a small smile, but said nothing. They looked around the room nervously. It was a small comfort knowing that L and the others were watching them on the monitors. Hiroko was the first to notice Matsuda had left. Before she could point this out to Naoko, Matsuda suddenly appeared again, stumbling around the room. "What's wrong with you?"

Matsuda chuckled as he stumbled over to the girls. He ruffled their hair before throwing open the sliding door and stumbling out onto the balcony. "Everyone, look at me!"

Naoko and Hiroko's eyes widened in horror as Matsuda climbed up onto the small concrete wall that served as a balcony. "Matsu-san, please be careful!" Both she and Hiroko screamed in unison as Matsuda's hand slipped and he fell off the balcony.

Neither twin noticed the ensuing chaos around them as the Yotsuba men and the other models made a run for it. Both were sobbing hysterically and barely heard Misa trying to console them.

"Girls, girls, I'm okay." Matsuda suddenly popped up in the room. He yelped as he was tackled to the ground by the two still hysterical girls. "I'm alive, see? Ryuzaki came up with the idea so that Kira wouldn't kill me."

Hiroko punched him roughly in the arm before wiping her tears away. "Don't ever scare us like that again!"

Naoko nodded her agreement and gave Matsuda a half hearted punch on his other arm. "We really thought you were dead, Matsuda-san."

Matsuda smiled as both girls hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry. I won't do something stupid like that again, I promise."

Hiroko sniffled and stood up. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Don't be mean, Hiroko!" Naoko shouted.

* * *

"My obituary sure is small…" Matsuda pouted as he read the paper next day. He yelped as an apple connected with the back of his head. "Are you still mad at me, Hiroko-chan?"

Hiroko stuck her tongue out at him from her perch beside L in his chair. She snuggled against his side and smiled happily as he gave her a distracted pat on the head.

L glanced up at the screen where the faces and profiles of the eight Yotsuba men. "Mogi-san will be Misa-san's new manager from now on. Thanks to Matsuda's screw up, we have now greatly narrowed down who could potentially be Kira. Also, Naoko, you said you had something you wanted to say."

Naoko nodded from her spot beside Light. She glanced nervously over at Aiber. Both he and Wedy were very kind to the twins and Hiroko was opening up to them rather quickly. Naoko still hesitated, though she would speak to them when they spoke to her. She gave Aiber a small smile when he grinned at her. "When we were in the meeting room, I read their auras. There were four of them that I think could maybe be Kira." She stared at the screen for a moment before pointing at four individuals. "Kida Masahiko, Namikawa Reiji, Higuchi Kyosuke, and Mido Shingo."

L nodded slowly. "Good work, Naoko. Have a cupcake." He handed the little girl a cupcake and almost smiled at the excited gleam in her eye. He also handed Hiroko one as she began whining in his ear. "So, whoever Kira is has assembled a group of people so that he himself cannot be personally pinned. Likely, he's a stupid coward who can't do anything on his own. Right now, Wedy is breaking through Yotsuba security and Aiber is getting close to one of the eight. The meetings occur every Friday and the killings happen on the weekends. If Aiber and Wedy succeed, next Friday should be interesting."


	23. New Approach

**Sakura02: Because it's Misa and she's just really random…you know she's wanted to dress the girls up since day 1!**

**Thank you: Akiko Kashikoi, Tailsdoll123, Tetra Muffins, Saiyuri Haruno, and Princesa de la Luna for reviewing!**

* * *

"Weren't there eight of them at the party?" Hiroko asked quietly from her perch beside L as the group sat around to watch the video. Soichiro had done his best to convince the girls to stay in their room, but it had been to no avail. Both girls had stubbornly refused to be confined.

L nodded slowly. "It seems they have killed one of their own."

Naoko listened quietly as the Yotsuba men spoke casually of their comrades death and then moved on to their Kira business. She shuddered lightly and clung to Light's hand as they continued watching. She didn't understand how anyone could be so cold and heartless as to speak of another's life as though it were nothing. Her eyes widened as they quickly agreed on a few people to kill. "They act like it's no big deal that they're killing innocent people."

Light wrapped an arm around Naoko's shoulders and squeezed the little girl to his side. "We've got enough evidence to have all seven of them arrested now."

L sighed and spoke slowly, not looking forward to the yelling he was going to receive. "It's not enough until the people they have spoken about actually do die. Until then, it's nothing more than words." He flinched as Light, Soichiro, Naoko, and Hiroko all yelled at him. Hiroko's voice was particularly loud as she was sitting right beside him. L gave Hiroko an equally petulant glare as he flicked her on the forehead. "My main problem is, if we catch them now, everything will be ruined."

"You mean we won't know how Kira kills." Naoko piped up. When L nodded, she frowned. "But, those people they're talking about killing aren't criminals. We can't just let them die." They all looked back up at the screen as the Yotsuba group decided to have one of the men die in the current week, and the other to die in three weeks time.

"That means either tonight or tomorrow!" Soichiro exclaimed, his wide eyes matching those of everyone else. "We have to do something!"

"Didn't you guys get their cellphone numbers?" Hiroko asked, her voice almost shrill with panic.

"We do." Light piped up, hugging Naoko to his side. He could feel the little girl shaking against him. "If we use the police system, we can record the whole conversation."

"Calm down, all of you." L said sternly. He patted Hiroko's head to try and soothe her. "We have to assume that the police will tell everything to Yotsuba if we use their system. If we just up and call them, they'll be suspicious when Aiber calls them in three days. Most importantly of all, though, we won't be able to determine who Kira is."

"What do you mean, Ryuzaki-san?" Naoko asked quietly, having finally calmed down.

L sipped at his tea and frowned; it wasn't sweet enough. He handed the cup over to Hiroko and poured himself another cup. "Evidence exists. There's no doubt about it. If we are patient, we'll be able to find the evidence."

Hiroko glanced at L from the corner of her eye. "How do you know?"

"There has to be evidence because Kira killed Lind L. Tailor and the FBI agents." Matsuda said quietly. The twins had never seen the young cop looking so serious before and it surprised them. "The fact that he killed Tailor, who swore to capture him on television, and the FBI agents, means that there is evidence. Kira wouldn't have bothered with them if there wasn't some kind of physical evidence to prove that he was Kira."

Hiroko blinked a few times, as did Naoko and the others. "Wow, Matsuda, you sounded really smart just now." Hiroko grinned as Matsuda pouted at her.

Soichiro sighed and pulled his cellphone out. "Regardless, we have to do something to stop them from killing. We're going to have to reveal that we're on to them."

L sighed and pouted. "I suppose you're right. Saving lives is more important…" He blinked as Hiroko patted him on the head. "I'm not some child that needs reassurance."

"Then stop pouting like one." Hiroko stuck her tongue out at the still pouting detective.

Light stared at the screen a moment longer, before his eyes suddenly widened. He grabbed Naoko by the shoulders to get her attention. "Naoko, of the four that you initially listed as Kira, are there any that you believe wouldn't be Kira now?"

Naoko blinked, taking a moment to process Light's question. She chewed on her lip thoughtfully and looked over to Hiroko. "I suppose…Namikawa-san." She smiled when Hiroko nodded her agreement.

Light nodded slowly. He moved to stand right beside L. "I'm going to borrow the name 'L' for a moment, Ryuzaki. If we're going to reveal everything to one of them, we want one of them that has great influence and most likely isn't Kira. I initially thought of Namikawa and Naoko just confirmed it for me."

"Of course." L nodded, looking over at Naoko. He reached over and ruffled the little girl's hair. "Good work, Naoko." He didn't miss the huge grin that split across Naoko's face at his praise. The group sat silently as Light spoke to Namikawa and managed to convince him to the convince the others that they should delay the killings by a month. Once the Yotsuba group had adjourned their meeting, L spoke again. "Impressive, Yagami-kun. Not only did you manage to delay the killings by a month, but now we can potentially get information from Namikawa. It's exactly how I would have done things, though you came up with it faster. At this rate, if I die you could become the next L." He blinked as Hiroko suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Don't say that." Hiroko protested, tightening her arms around him. "You aren't going to die, Ryuzaki. I won't let you."

Naoko came over as well rested her hands on L's own. "We'll protect you, Ryuzaki-san."

"We've got a month to obtain hard evidence against Kira." Light said, secretly smiling over at the girls. They were always so protective of everyone.

L nodded his head slowly, chewing on his thumb thoughtfully. "Yagami-kun was also the one to first discover the link to Yotsuba. You're doing my job better than I am. Yagami-kun, if I die will you take over for me?"

Naoko and Hiroko blinked, both looking at each other in utter confusion. L was acting so strange. Naoko stiffened as Light's aura suddenly turned annoyed. "Light-san? Ryuzaki-san?"

"I know exactly what you're thinking right now, Ryuzaki." Light said quietly. "You think I'm Kira and that I've just simply passed the powers on to someone else and that I've set it up so that the powers will return to me when I'm no longer a suspect. You're thinking that 'Yagami Light could become Kira and also hold the position of L, right?"

"Correct." L said coolly. He frowned as Hiroko's grip around his neck tightened even more. He couldn't tell if it was because she was upset with him, or if she was trying to protect him. "Get down, Hiroko." He said shooing the little girl out of his chair. "You and Naoko should be working on your schoolwork."

The twins obediently headed towards the stairs, but turned around when they heard the grunts of pain that came from both L and Light. Hiroko rolled her eyes when she saw that Light had punched L in the face while L had kicked Light in his. "You guys are so immature."

Naoko wrung her hands together nervously. "Please stop. This isn't the time to be fighting."

L sighed as he swiveled back around in his chair. "Right. Girls, up to Misa's room. Do your work or else no dessert tonight."

Naoko yelped as her twin yanked her up the stairs, screaming that L better not take her dessert away. The two reluctantly went into Misa's room and began on their schoolwork. Misa barely acknowledged the two girls and simply continued reading her magazine.

All three of the girls looked up as the door was suddenly thrown up. Misa's eyes lit up when she saw Light come in, though her joy flickered away at the sight of L close behind him. She huffed as Naoko rushed over and grabbed onto Light's free hand while Hiroko grabbed L's hand.

"Misa-san, do you love Light-kun?" L asked, getting very close to Misa's face and making everyone frown.

"Of course." Misa said, scooting back to try and put more space between herself and L.

"You also admire Kira, though." L continued, ignoring how Hiroko was tugging on his hand to try and make him back up. "If you had to choose between Light or Kira, which would you choose?"

Misa didn't hesitate as she latched onto Light's arm and hugged it tightly to her chest, ignoring how Naoko hissed in protest. "Obviously Light. I'm very grateful to Kira for killing the man that killed my parents, and I even wanted to meet him at one point. I don't love him, though. I love Light!"

L nodded, ignoring the suspicious looks the twins were giving him. They knew he was up to something. "Light-kun wants to capture Kira. What do you think of that?"

Misa shrugged nonchalantly. "If Light wants Kira caught, that's fine. I agree with Light."

"Then if you could help Light-kun, would you join the investigation?" L asked finally.

"Of course!" Misa chirped excitedly.

Light frowned. "Hold on, Ryuzaki. It's too dangerous to let Misa join the investigation. It's bad enough the girls are involved, we don't need to get anyone else involved."

"We don't mind." Naoko piped up quickly. "We like being able to help everyone. Light-san is right, though. It's too dangerous for Misa-san."

L quickly explained his plan. He would have Aiber tell the Yotsuba Seven that he had uncovered a link between Misa and L. He said he would have Aiber reveal to the group everything from Misa's parents being killed by a burglar, to Kira killing said burglar, and even Misa being arrested on suspicion of being the Second Kira. "Yotsuba will definitely want to hire her for a commercial in order to ask her various questions. All Misa-san has to do is let it slip that she desires to meet Kira. Based on your brilliant acting, Misa-san, this should be no problem for you."

Misa nodded in agreement. "Sounds exciting." She looked up at Light with curious eyes. "Light, do you really want to catch Kira?"

"Of course I do, but I don't like this plan." Light said patiently. "It puts you in danger."

Misa's eyes lit up. "You're worried about me? That's so sweet. Don't worry, though. I won't talk no matter what they do to me."

Hiroko leaned against L's side and grinned mischievously. "They'll probably just control you to talk before they kill you." She yelped as L whapped her upside the head. "I was just kidding."

L rolled his eyes and rapped her on her head with his knuckle. "Children should be seen and not heard. Now then," L quickly moved his hand out of the way before Hiroko could bite him. "I had Wedy piece together the papers that they shred up after each meeting. It's the rules of killing they follow." He read and explained how the rules indicated that they couldn't control Misa to talk about L since L was only a nickname.

"Either way, once L is dead, they'll kill Misa-san to keep her quiet." Naoko said softly. She almost felt sorry for the panicked look on Misa's face. On instinct more than anything else, Naoko reached out and took Misa's hand in hers, squeezing the older girl's hand reassuringly.

L shrugged casually. "If we win, Misa-san won't die. As long as we are handcuffed together, we share the same fate. If I die, you die and then Misa-san will be saddest of all. The girls are already fighting to capture Kira, why not let Misa-san help as well? It's either we catch Kira or Light-kun and I die. Which do you prefer Misa-san, Naoko, Hiroko?"

"Catch Kira!" The three girls shouted in unison. The three blinked at each other before actually laughing. It was the one thing they could all three agree on. Misa turned back to L. "I can't live in a world without Light!"

"Sorry, but I'm desperate." L said as Light opened his mouth to protest. "Misa-san will be a great addition to our team. Her guts and love for Light-kun are the greatest in the world."

Misa's eyes widened. "I think I've been totally wrong about you this whole time, Ryuzaki! I always thought you were just a pervert, but you really understand me!"

L nodded. "Yes, Misa-san is the perfect woman for Light-kun."

Naoko rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't go that far…"

L blinked as Misa suddenly kissed his cheek. He barely heard Hiroko's shriek of protest. "I could fall for you…" He said as Misa moved back to Light. He looked down as Hiroko's grip on him tightened and saw that the little girl was glaring furiously over at Misa.

Misa laughed nervously. "How about we be friends instead? After all, Light's friends are my friends."

L nodded in agreement. "I've gained another friend…"

Naoko yelped as she was suddenly yanked into a circle with Misa, Light, L, and Hiroko. Her grip on Light tightened as she quickly grabbed onto her twin's hand in order to not be flung out of the circle. She couldn't help but to laugh as Misa and Hiroko began laughing. The whole situation was so ridiculous, but it was strangely fun at the same time. It was the first time Naoko and Hiroko had had fun in quite a while. Hopefully, they would catch Kira soon and prove that Light was innocent once and for all.


	24. The Changing Aura

**Tetra Muffins: I can't answer any of your questions right now. It would spoil the story for you :)**

**Sakura02: I know! I actually cut out quite a bit of the talking and there was still so much…**

**Thanks: Hannah and Princesa de la Luna for your reviews!**

* * *

Hiroko rolled her eyes when Misa let out a dramatic yelp. "You're overacting, Misa. You're going to ruin everything!" They had been having Misa rehearse with Aiber what she was supposed to say and do in the interview with Yotsuba.

Misa pouted, looking at both girls petulantly. "I thought I did really good."

"They're going to know something is up if you act like that." Naoko chastised. She was hungry, but L wouldn't let them take a break to eat until Misa got her part down.

L sighed when he saw the irritated looks on both the girls faces. He fished around in his pockets until he found a few lollipops he had been saving for later. He waved one in front of both Naoko and Hiroko. "Here. You two get way too cranky when your blood sugar gets low." He blinked when Hiroko squealed excitedly and kissed him on the cheek.

"You're my hero, Ryuzaki!" Hiroko grinned and immediately unwrapped her lollipop.

L simply nodded and straightened up as he walked over to the phone. "Misa-san, if you don't start taking this seriously, I will kick you. We're going to need Mogi-san for this next part. I'll call him up."

Naoko and Hiroko sat on the floor beside the couch and happily ate their lollipops. It wasn't food, but it was better than nothing. After a few more tries, Misa eventually acted to L's satisfaction.

It would be another two days before Misa's interview. The girls did their best to keep up with their schoolwork, but had a hard time concentrating. Both girls kept having fuzzy visions of three boys. They couldn't see their faces, only that one was a red head, the other blonde, and the last had pure white hair.

"Girls?" Light crouched down in front of the girls and smiled at them, his worry showing through. "Is everything okay? You've been quiet all day."

Naoko and Hiroko both quickly smiled. "We're just worried about Misa-san is all." Naoko answered. "She's been gone at the interview for so long."

"You're both lying." L mumbled as he stared blankly at the computer screen. "On the off chance that you aren't lying, however, you shouldn't worry. The longer the interview takes, the more likely it is that they believe her." He rolled his eyes and scooted over when Hiroko came over beside him. "Isn't this uncomfortable for you?"

"Nope." Hiroko sang. "Oh, look, Misa and Mogi are back!" Both girls ran over to the door to greet Mogi and Misa. "How'd it go? Did you mess up?"

Misa grinned and ruffled both the girls hair. "It went perfectly! They hired me to be in the commercial. I gave them all my cellphone number and e-mail. Three of the seven have already contacted me privately."

Hiroko crinkled her nose. "Men are so gross." She glared at Misa as the girl once again ruffled her hair. "Keep doing that and I'll bite your hand off. What's wrong, Naoko?"

Naoko blinked and tore her eyes away from Misa. "Oh, nothing really." She yawned suddenly and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sleepy. I'm going to bed. Hiroko, come with me."

"I'll be up in a few minutes to tuck you both in!" Light shouted up the stairs as the twins ran up them.

"What's wrong, Naoko?" Hiroko asked breathlessly when they finally reached their room and Naoko had slammed the door shut.

Naoko was silent for a few moments as she changed into her nightgown. She turned around and saw Hiroko had done the same thing. "Misa's aura change. It's really subtle and I almost didn't catch it. It's a deeper color than before. It's not evil…just different. I don't know how to describe it."

"Did something happen at Yotsuba maybe?" Hiroko offered as they crawled into bed together. Both girls snuggled up to each other.

"I don't know." Naoko whispered quietly. "We need to keep an eye on her."

Both girls immediately fell silent as Light and L came into the room to tuck them in. Light smiled at the two girls and kissed them both on the forehead. "Are you sure everything is okay, Naoko?"

Naoko smiled brightly up at him. "Yes, I'm sure."

Hiroko was about to pipe up when she felt someone kiss her forehead. She looked up and was surprised to see it was L. "Are you sick, Ryuzaki?"

L rolled his eyes and tapped her nose. "Silence you." He went over and gave Naoko a kiss as well. "Good night." He and Light flipped the lights off as they walked out, leaving the girls to dream about the three boys again.

* * *

"Where could Misa have gone?" Hiroko stomped her foot impatiently. Mogi had run into the building, screaming about how Misa had run off. They'd tried calling her, but she wasn't answering any of her cells. "I swear if she's doing something stupid…"

"It'll be okay, Light-san." Naoko consoled the clearly worried Light as best she could. She held his hand while he simply sat in his chair and tapped his foot.

Light gave Naoko a small smile. "I'm sorry. I'm worrying you, aren't I?" They all looked up when they heard Misa's voice shouting at them. Light's eyes widened when he saw Misa waving at the camera at the entrance, a bright grin on her face. "Misa!"

"Where'd you go?" Naoko and Hiroko shouted, running over to Misa and giving her a hard punch in the arm.

Misa winced, but the grin quickly returned to her face. "Higuchi is Kira! Listen to this recording I got on my cellphone!"

They all listened in shock as Higuchi's voice came over the speakers proclaiming that he would stop killing criminals to get Misa to trust him. Naoko frowned as Misa grinned proudly at herself. The color of her aura was a deeper color than the other day. Something was going on with Misa. Naoko just couldn't figure out what it was.


	25. A New Plan

**Hello again! Sorry about the delay in updates. I've started NaNoWriMo this month so that's kind of consuming my life right now.**

**yvonna: I can't really answer your questions about who killed their mother right now. As to why L didn't look into them screaming, he probably simply chalked it up to him being a rather creepy looking person to such little girls.**

**Sakura02: I'm so glad your off the medicine now. You were crazy while you were on them XD. But yes, those three boys are definitely very pretty to look at. Sadly, we're getting closer to L going bye-bye :(**

**Tetra Muffin: Lol, sorry, I can only answer a couple of yours questions. No, the Whammy boys will not be showing up in this chapter, and yes, the girls will be okay.**

**Thank you: Tailsdoll123, Hannah, Princesa de la Luna, Saiyuri Haruno, and the anonymous reviewer for reviewing!**

* * *

Hiroko crossed her arms and frowned suspiciously at the excited Misa. "How'd you get Higuchi to admit he was Kira anyways?"

Misa smiled nervously at the little girl. "He's crazy about me, so I just said I'd marry whoever was Kira and he confessed. I also made him think I'm the Second Kira."

Naoko shifted nervously while Light shouted at Misa. When Misa had mentioned being the Second Kira, her aura had begun twisting and flaring. She continued to watch Misa while the others discussed what should be done.

"What should we do? At this rate, Misa will be killed." Light asked L impatiently. He glanced over and saw that Naoko looked rather worried. Thinking it was because of the conversation, he went over and hugged the little girl. "You and Hiroko don't need to stay and listen to this."

Naoko quickly shook her head. "We're fine." She glanced suspiciously back over at Misa. "How'd you get Higuchi to think you were the Second Kira anyway?"

Misa's nervous smile widened. "I just told him I could kill people. I told him that if he proved he was Kira, I would prove I was the Second Kira and then we could get married."

"So, if the killings stop, you'll have to kill someone." L said while stacking his tower of sugar cubes. "Can you do that, Misa-san?"

Misa frowned at the detective. "Of course I can't. I just said that to get Higuchi to confess. Besides, he just wants to marry me."

Hiroko rolled her eyes. "You realize that once he finds out you lied to him, he'll kill you."

"We have to capture Higuchi now." Light said firmly. "If we don't, Misa will be in danger. Maybe we can find out how he kills after we capture him."

L was silent for a moment. He handed Hiroko a sugar cube, more out of habit than anything else. "We won't capture him until we confirm that the killings have indeed stopped. I need some time…Watari, get me Wedy."

"What's wrong, Naoko-chan?" Misa smiled down at the little girl while L talked to Wedy over the computer. "You look upset."

Naoko scooted closer to Light when Misa reached for her. "I'm just tired is all." She said quietly.

"You should get more sleep, Naoko-chan." Misa said lightly, patting the little girl on the head. "You need to stay healthy so you can grow up to be a pretty young lady." She straightened up and turned to L once he was done talking to Wedy. "So, since we'll have listening devices and cameras in Higuchi's cars now, I should meet up with him again and get him to confess, right?"

Hiroko rolled her eyes. "You're such a moron."

"We need to create a situation which will force Higuchi to kill someone." L said calmly, sipping at his tea and doing his best to ignore Hiroko shifting around beside him.

"How're we going to do that, Ryuzaki?" Hiroko asked curiously. Her eyes lit up as he passed her his teacup. Apparently, it hadn't been sweet enough for him, but it was perfect for her.

"We will use Yagami-san's idea about revealing everything on Sakura TV. We'll get a three hour block and say that we will reveal Kira's identity at the end." L explained calmly.

Naoko crinkled her nose. "Do you think Higuchi even watches Sakura TV, let alone believe anything that they say. I mean, it's Sakura TV."

Light ruffled Naoko's hair gently. "We'll get Namikawa to call Higuchi and tell him to watch. Once Higuchi realizes someone knows his secret, he'll believe it."

"So, are we going to have Aiber reveal he was a spy?" Hiroko asked. She scowled as L flicked her on the forehead. "You could've just said no."

"No." L said, ignoring the snarl Hiroko sent him. "If he believes that it's Coil, then he'll limit his retaliation. It has to be someone that he can gain easy access to their name."

"Who are we using then?" Matsuda asked. He blinked as everyone looked at him. "What?"

"Matsuda-san is the best choice." Naoko said.

"Definitely Matsuda." Hiroko agreed.

Light nodded slowly. "Higuchi knows that Matsuda overheard their meeting. If the supposed dead Matsui showed up on television, then Higuchi wouldn't give up until he was certain he was dead."

"We should have a screen up to hide Matsuda's and the interviewer's identity and then have Matsuda's screen fall!" Hiroko shouted excitedly. "That way, Higuchi will freak out and react more irrationally." She winced as L brought his hand up and waited for the inevitable flick on her forehead. She blinked when all she received was a pat on the head.

"Good idea, Hiroko." L said. He ignored the way Hiroko's eyes lit up when he praised her.

"We should have him mention that the other seven were simply pawns of Kira." Light added. "That way, only Higuchi will react."

"We'll use Hiroko and Light-kun's ideas." L declared.

Naoko remained quiet while the adults around her and Hiroko continued discussing their plan to prove that Higuchi was in fact Kira. She glanced over at Matsuda and immediately went to his side. She didn't have to read auras to know that he was nervous. She reached out and grabbed his hand gently. "You don't have to do this, Matsuda-san."

L glanced over his shoulder. "We'll have to wait a few days to confirm that the killings have in fact stopped. Please think about your decision during that time, Matsuda-san."

Matsuda smiled down at Naoko and squeezed her hand before looking back up at L. "I don't need a few days to think about it. I'll do it."

* * *

"Are you seriously eating popcorn right now?" Misa asked Hiroko curiously. She, the twins, Light, and L were all at Headquarters, watching as Matsuda began his interview on Sakura TV. Though they couldn't see Soichiro, they knew he was behind the scenes at Sakura TV. Mogi was stationed at Yoshida Productions office, along with Aiber.

Hiroko popped another kernel into her mouth. "Yeah. This is going to be fun and I'm hungry."

Misa was about to say more when her phone suddenly started ringing. "There's Higuchi."

Naoko chewed nervously on her lip. She hoped everything would work out all right. She didn't want anyone to get hurt trying to catch Higuchi. She listened to all the calls Higuchi made, hearing his voice become more and more panicked. "Is he going to the office?"

L's eyes almost lit up as a map appeared on the large monitor, showing Higuchi's car and Wedy's motorcycle following close behind. "Things are going very well."


	26. The Chase Ends

**I'm so sorry, everyone! I hate not updating for long periods of time like this. November was a rather chaotic month between NaNoWriMo, trying to find a second job, Thanksgiving, and becoming a Dual Major. I hope you will all forgive me and continue reading and reviewing!**

**BANEHiwatari: Don't worry; L isn't going to die in this chapter!**

**Sakura02: Hooray for not being sick anymore!**

**Thank you: Tetra Muffins, LightningStar 0 . o, yvonna, Hannah, Princesa de la Luna, Tailsdoll123, Angel87, Mangafreak666, smokeyuchiha, Fullmetal HawksEye Flames, and BlackRosario for your reviews!**

* * *

The twins sat silently beside L's chair, watching the large screen showing Higuchi closely. They were both rather surprised that neither L nor Light had said anything about them being there or tried to send them to their room. Hiroko was about to comment when Higuchi suddenly began talking to himself. "Who is Rem?"

Naoko frowned while Light and L debated the different possibilities. She swore she could see a very faint outline of someone…no, something…in the backseat of Higuchi's car. She couldn't figure out what it was, but it was certainly the shape of something she had never seen before in her life. "I think there's someone in the car with him…I can't really make them out."

"Maybe there's a Shinigami in the car with him." L said coolly, missing the nervous look that flitted across Misa's face.

Hiroko rolled her eyes, watching closely as Higuchi's car pulled up outside of the Yoshida Productions building. "Don't be stupid, Ryuzaki. There's no such thing as Shinigami." She glanced over at Naoko when her twin didn't immediately agree with her.

"There shouldn't be two little girls running around with supernatural powers and yet here you and Naoko are." L replied, earning him a petulant pout from Hiroko.

They all fell silent and waited with bated breath, watching Higuchi's every move through the building and to where Matsuda's 'real name' was located. L and Light both frowned when all he did was pull out Matsuda's resume, write the fake name down in a black notebook, and then leave. "He's not going to kill him there?"

Hiroko instinctively reached out and clutched her sister's trembling hand. "Naoko, do you remember the dream we had when we first lived with Soichiro?"

Naoko nodded slowly, squeezing her twin's hand tightly. "That's the black notebook from our dream!"

"Girls, what are you talking about?" Light asked curiously. His eyes widened in horror as the two girls suddenly collapsed. "Naoko? Hiroko?"

* * *

There was nothing but darkness surrounding Naoko and Hiroko when they opened their eyes. They couldn't see anything but a sea of red eyes all around them. "Are we dead?" Hiroko asked, glancing over at Naoko who seemed surprisingly calm.

"I don't think so." Naoko said softly. She and Hiroko both tensed as a particularly large pair of red eyes began moving closer to them. "Who are you?"

Hiroko glowered at the pair of eyes. "Don't you dare come any closer! We'll beat you up! We can do that!"

"Oh, we know that." The shadowy figure whispered quietly. "We don't want to fight you. We simply need to fix something that was broken."

Hiroko and Naoko huddled closer together as two large bird like hands reached out and covered their faces. "What are you talking about?" Hiroko asked, trying to sound brave. She screamed at her legs to move away from whatever was grabbing her face, but she couldn't move. She could feel Naoko's hand trembling in her own and realized neither could her sister.

"Ryuk tried to fix it, but it was only temporary." The shadow sighed. "You can't remember yet. You cannot remember us or the notebooks. Now, wake up."

Hiroko's eyes snapped open. She sat up and looked frantically around, only to find herself on one of the small couches in the surveillance room of the headquarters. She glanced over at the other couch and saw Naoko was just waking up as well. She looked up when she heard the sound of the door opening. "Hey, where are you two going?" She shouted, running after L and Light, ignoring Misa who was currently chained to a chair.

L turned around and sighed when he saw the two girls running towards them. "We don't have time to play games, girls. You need to stay here. We're going to capture Higuchi."

"We want to come!" Hiroko protested. "Please, Ryuzaki? We'll be good and stay out of the way."

Light looked at L and shrugged. "What could it hurt? If they stay with us, Higuchi won't be anywhere near them."

L rolled his eyes and quickly grabbed both Hiroko and Naoko's hands. "I don't have the time nor the energy to argue with the two of you. No dessert tonight since you're both being stubborn and you must stay quiet."

"That's not fair!" Naoko protested. "You just want the cake all for yourself!"

L didn't say anything as they took the elevator up to the roof where Watari and a helicopter was waiting for them. L and Light situated both girls in the back with Watari and made sure they were secured tightly in. "You better hope Yagami-san doesn't see this. He'll have our heads for letting you two come along."

"This is so cool!" Hiroko gushed. "I've never been on a helicopter before!"

Light smiled briefly at the two before focusing his attention on Naoko. "Naoko, before the two of you fainted, you said something. What was it?"

Naoko frowned and looked over at Hiroko. She couldn't remember much of anything from before they had collapsed. She looked helplessly at Light and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sorry."

Light gave her another smile and patted her head. "It's all right. I'm just glad the two of you are all right." He turned his attention back to the front of the helicopter when they began slowly lifting off.

"I didn't know you knew how to fly a helicopter, Ryuzaki." Hiroko piped up, trying to lighten the tense mood in the helicopter.

L shrugged. "You don't really need a license to fly one. It just takes a good deal of intuition."

Hiroko was silent for a moment. "We're going to die!" She whined. "I didn't even get to kiss a boy!"

"You don't need to do that anyways." L said casually, gently guiding the helicopter towards their destination. "Boys have cooties."

"We're too old to believe in cooties, right, Naoko." Hiroko pouted, looking to her sister who nodded in agreement.

Mogi's crackling voice suddenly came over the speaker. "Higuchi pulled a gun and shot the chief! He's on the run with Aiber close behind him!"

"Soichiro-san!" Naoko gasped out along with Hiroko. "Are you okay?"

"Girls?" Soichiro's voice was uncertain. "What are you doing with Ryuzaki? Never mind, it's not important right now. He just grazed my shoulder. We'll be able to catch up to him."

Hiroko glared out the window of the helicopter. "That Higuchi creep needs to go down now! How dare he hurt someone as kind as Soichiro! That's an unforgivable sin!"

"What did I say about you talking?" L said quietly. "We have no choice but to join the pursuit. Are you ready, Watari?"

Both Naoko and Hiroko's eyes widened while Watari casually held up a sniper rifle and gave an affirmative nod. "This is going to be so cool!" Hiroko cheered while Naoko fidgeted nervously. They remained hovering right above the Porsche Higuchi was driving.

They all glanced down at the wailing sound of sirens. Watari lowered his rifle momentarily. "I had told the police to stay out of this."

Hiroko and Naoko both squealed in excitement when they realized who it was that was leading the cops. "It's Aizawa-san!" Naoko shouted happily. "He hasn't stopped trying to fight Kira!"

"He's trying to get away!" Hiroko shouted when Higuchi attempted to escape through a small hole in the line between cop cars and the helicopter.

Watari brought his rifle up and shot one of Higuchi's tires, causing the Porsche to spin and slam into a wall. Watari gave a small smile at the awed gasps and praise that the twins gave him. "Perhaps when the two of you are older, I can teach the two of you how to…hold on, girls." Watari brought the rifle back up and shot the gun out of Higuchi's hand when the man made a pitiful attempt to take his own life.

"It's over now." Light said, smiling at the excited shouts from Naoko and Hiroko.

L nodded slowly. "Yes…Hiroko, don't even think about unbuckling. Don't stick your tongue out at me either."

Hiroko mumbled and crossed her arms. "You're so mean, Ryuzaki."


	27. Shinigami

**Tailsdoll123: Don't worry! L won't die in this chapter! We've got a couple more to go before we get to that part.**

**Queen of Ashes: The twins are 7 years old right now**

**Sakura02: We'll be done with Yotsuba in this chapter :)**

**Thanks: yvonna, Mangafreak666, ReaderWorm101, BANEHiwatari, Tetra Muffins, Akiko Kashikoi, BlackRosario, and Fullmetal HawksEye Flames for reviewing!**

* * *

Hiroko and Naoko remained in their seats, craning to see over L's head. They could just make out Soichiro, Mogi, and Aizawa walking towards the car where Higuchi was. "What's going to happen now?" Hiroko asked quietly.

"We're going to see what he has to say." Light said calmly. He turned on his headset and spoke to Mogi. "Give Higuchi a headset just like we planned."

"Girls, I need you to remain very quiet for the next few minutes." L said quietly while handing both the girls a cup of tea. He poured himself a cup of tea and turned on his own headset once Mogi gave them a thumbs up. "Higuchi, how have you been killing people as Kira?" L asked. When Higuchi didn't answer right away, L continued. "If you don't talk, I'll do whatever it takes to make you."

_"The notebook…"_ Higuchi's gravelly voice crackled through L's headset just loud enough for the girls to hear. _"There's a notebook that kills whoever's name you write down in it. You have to know what they look like, though. It's in my bag in the car."_

"Yagami-san, please check the bag." L said, trying to keep his voice calm, though the twins could distinctly hear the tremor in his voice.

"There's no way he's telling the truth, right?" Hiroko asked nervously. "I mean, killing with a notebook and someone's name…" They all looked up when Soichiro suddenly let out a terrified scream. "What's wrong?"

"Soichiro-san, are you okay?" Naoko yelled, hoping he could hear her.

"Monster!" Was all Soichiro managed to scream out.

Not a moment later, after Mogi picked the notebook up, he began screaming too. "Is it only the people that touch the notebook that can see the monster?" Naoko asked worriedly.

L was silent for a moment. "Mogi-san, please bring the notebook here."

Hiroko's eyes widened in horror as Mogi obeyed. "No! I don't want to see a monster! Why would you tell him to bring that thing here?"

"Nobody said you have to touch it." L said, plucking the notebook from Mogi's grasp. He looked over at where Higuchi was, no emotion showing on his face. "Huh, so shinigami really do exist…"

"Let me see!" Hiroko shouted, unbuckling herself and Naoko. She yanked her sister forward and touched the notebook, looking expectantly over at Naoko who was still hesitating. "Please? I don't want to see the monster by myself."

Naoko sighed and glared half-heartedly at her twin. "You shouldn't have touched the notebook in the first place…" The twins both looked over where L was looking and gasped. There, standing in the light of the headlights, was the strangest creature Naoko and Hiroko had ever seen. Oddly enough, they didn't find the shinigami particularly frightening. "It's really funny looking." Naoko said quietly.

"Let me see." Light shouted, yanking the notebook away from L's grasp. He suddenly began screaming, more loudly and violently than either Soichiro or Mogi had.

"Are you okay, Light-san?" Naoko asked, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on his arm. She flinched away in pain as Light's aura abruptly and violently shifted. She suddenly had a pounding headache and sat back down in her seat to keep from vomiting.

"I'm fine." Light muttered, keeping his back to the others. "You okay, Naoko?"

Naoko nodded weakly, smiling warily at her twin. "Yes, I'm okay."

"Ryuzaki, I'll compare the names in the notebook to the people that have died in the past few months." Light said.

L turned around in his seat and patted Naoko's head. "Do you need a barf bag?"

"No thank you." Naoko said, puffing her cheeks out. "I just got a little dizzy is all." She looked worriedly over at Light, but didn't make a move to go near him. "Are the names matching up?"

"Yes." Light said quietly. "It's only been one page, but all the names are matching up. Ryuzaki, should I check the entire book?"

L nodded his head absentmindedly. "I'm impressed your staying so calm after seeing something like that." L said, motioning towards the shinigami that was hovering beside the handcuffed Higuchi. "You too, girls. Any other little girls would've been crying and screaming."

"Well, we're not normal." Hiroko said proudly.

Light nodded his head in agreement. "It was a little shocking at first, but everything makes sense now. So, we'll be taking Higuchi in for questioning now, right?"

"Yes." L said. "Yagami-san, please put Higuchi and the other one in your car."

Hiroko gasped when Higuchi suddenly began violently convulsing. "What's happening?"

"I think he just had a heart attack." Naoko whispered. The twins looked nervously at each other and held each other's hands.

* * *

Naoko and Hiroko were obediently working on their schoolwork and ignoring the chaos around them. They had had to beg L to let them stay downstairs with everyone and had only gotten to agree as long as they promised to stay out of the way and do their schoolwork. They were excited that Aizawa had joined back up with them. Hiroko grinned over at the shinigami and waved her over. "Rem, are you hungry?"

Rem floated over to the two little girls and gave a small smile when a quiet Naoko handed her an apple. "Thank you. Most little children are frightened by my appearance."

"You don't seem like a bad person…shinigami…" Naoko said quietly, giving Rem a smile. "You just got stuck with a bad person."

Hiroko glanced over at L and Light. "So, all those rules in the notebook prove that Light and Misa didn't do anything, right?"

L sighed and nodded. They had read over all the rules and there had been one that stated that if the user failed to write names down consecutively for thirteen days, then they would die. "We can't destroy it either, or we'll all die."

"I don't wanna die!" Hiroko wailed. "Ryuzaki, you better not do anything bad to that notebook!"

Soichiro simply chuckled. "So, this means that Light and Misa are cleared, right? There's no way they could have been Kira and the Second Kira. There's no point in keeping them under surveillance anymore."

L sighed and reluctantly nodded. "I'm sorry for all the trouble." He muttered, though he didn't sound very sorry. He scooted over as soon as Hiroko came over in order to give the little girl more space to sit beside him.

Light smiled and picked Naoko up to put in his lap as soon as she came over. "We can't rest yet, though. There have to be more than just this one notebook in the human world and we still need to find out who the original Kira and Second Kira were."

Naoko shifted in Light's lap and looked up at him. There's was something different about him now, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It bothered her deeply though, and there was a constant sick feeling in her stomach. "Are you going to go home now, Light-san?"

Light shook his head. "If it's all right with Ryuzaki, I think I'd like to stay here to continue helping with the investigation." When L nodded, Light sighed. "I suppose Misa will be leaving, though."

"Why do you care?" Hiroko asked, pouting. "She's so whiny and annoying."

"That's not nice, Hiroko." Light chastised. "Misa says she loves me and she even risked her life to help us. Anyone with feelings would be moved by that much affection and dedication."

L looked at him curiously. "So, you've developed feelings for Misa-san?"

Light was silent before nodding slowly. "Yes, though I don't think I realized that until now." He smiled down at Naoko when he heard the little girl huff. "You're still my number one girl, Naoko."

"Girls, go to bed." L said suddenly. "We need to finish up here with the shinigami."

Hiroko kissed L on the cheek and hopped out of the chair, waiting for her sister to finish saying goodnight to Light. The two walked over to the stairs to go to their room. Before Hiroko left, she turned back to L and grinned. "We should make a cake tomorrow, Ryuzaki!"

L glanced over at the little girl. "Why?"

"It'll be fun!" Hiroko said, the grin never leaving her face.

L was silent for a moment before nodding. "Very well." He winced at the high pitched squeal Hiroko let out. "Good night." He watched the twins run up the stairs and sighed. "Troublesome little things…"


	28. Cake Baking

**Tetra Muffins: For now, Light has no plans to kill the girls**

**Saiyuri Haruno: Lol, nope. They're pretty abnormal and strange little girls**

**Sakura02: Not the cake of death! Poor L…**

**Thanks: yvonna, Mirunique, smokeyuchiha, Tailsdoll123, Mangafreak666, navy14, AngelSayori, Fullmetal HawksEye Flame, and Princesa de la Luna for reviewing!**

* * *

"Ryuzaki, hurry up!" Hiroko whined. She was standing on a small stool in the kitchen area with a green apron on. Various ingredients were in front of her.

Naoko stood next to Hiroko on a stool with a matching apron on. She smiled apologetically over at the annoyed detective. "If you want Ryuzaki-san to move faster, maybe you should go help him."

L grumbled his agreement with Naoko. He had no idea what had possessed him to agree to make this damn cake with the twins. He should be interrogating the shinigami, not baking delicious sweets. He dropped his armful of ingredients in front of the two girls. He sighed in annoyance when he saw the frown on Hiroko's face. "What? Did I forget something?"

"Well, yeah." Hiroko huffed, her hands on her hips. "You forgot the most important ingredient; strawberries!"

L actually felt his mouth watering. "We're making a strawberry cake?"

Hiroko nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah! Strawberry cake is your favorite after all."

Naoko smiled shyly at the confused detective. "We wanted to make a cake with you to thank you for taking care of us. I know we cause you a lot of trouble, especially Hiroko. So, this is our way of saying thank you."

L turned towards the refrigerator to hide the small smile on his face. He would never tell either of the girls, especially not Hiroko, but he had grown rather fond of the two of them. They brought a brightness to the otherwise serious Task Force that he was grateful for. He brought the strawberries over and plopped them down. "Now what?" He asked, chewing thoughtfully on his thumb.

"Naoko knows what to do!" Hiroko chimed excitedly, grinning over at her twin. "Naoko is the best baker in the whole wide world!"

Naoko blushed proudly. "I'm not that good. Mommy taught both of us, but Hiroko burns everything she touches."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." L muttered, missing the right hook Hiroko sent at him. "I'll have to teach you two how to fight properly. We can't have you two growing up without knowing how to defend yourselves. With how gullible you two are, a guy could roll up on a motorcycle and you'd hop right on."

Hiroko stuck her tongue out. "No way. Boys are gross. They have cooties."

L patted her head and nodded approvingly. "You keep thinking that. You two, Naoko. I'm more worried about you doing that then Hiroko."

Naoko blushed again and focused on mixing the ingredients together. "I wouldn't. I don't like motorcycles. They're scary. The people that ride them are even scarier." Naoko instructed Hiroko and L on what to do. She kept having to whack their hands away with wooden spoons when they would try and sneak a lick of the batter. "You're going to get worms!" She screamed.

Finally, they managed to get the cake into the baking pan and in the oven. Having nothing to do for the next hour, Hiroko began to grow bored. A mischievous glint came to her eyes when she saw there was still some pink batter left in the mixing bowl.

L blinked and crossed his eyes, trying to see the offending bit of batter Hiroko had dabbed on his nose. "That's very immature, Hiroko." He reached into the bowl and poked her on the forehead.

Naoko rolled her eyes. "You're both immature." She squeaked when L scooped her up in his arms and dabbed a bit of frosting onto her cheek. "You're so mean, Ryuzaki-san!"

"Put my sister down!" Hiroko howled furiously.

L didn't have time to put Naoko down or to even move out of the way of the incoming bag of open flour. He stood there with Naoko still in his arms, both of them completely stunned and covered head to toe in flour.

Naoko let out a small cough. She laughed when a small cloud of flour went up into the air and at the sight of the serious L covered in flour. She tried to wipe some off his face, but it only made matters worse.

L sighed and put Naoko down. While he was scooping up a large handful of flour, he glared over at Hiroko. "That was not very nice, Hiroko."

Hiroko squealed and tried to run past him. Just as she went by him, L dumped his handful of flour onto her head. Hiroko let out a wail of despair and sat down on the flour. "Now I have to take a bath, Ryuzaki!"

L smirked and picked her up. He held the pouting girl at arms length. "You needed one anyways. Come along. By the time you two are done with your bath, the cake will be done." He took both girls by the hand and led them out of the kitchen.

Matsuda howled with laughter while the rest of the Task Force just looked at the three with a raised eyebrow. Matsuda pulled a camera from his bag and snapped a quick photo. "That's hilarious!"

"Delete that now, Matsuda." L barked. He led the girls up the stairs to their room and drew them a bath.

Once L had left, the two girls jumped into the bath and quickly rinsed off. Hiroko couldn't keep the silly grin off her face. "Today has been the best day ever!"

Naoko nodded her head in agreement. "I hope Ryuzaki-san and the others like the cake."

"Of course they will!" Hiroko said proudly. "You make the best cakes in the whole world!"

The twins finished bathing and hopped out of the bath. They quickly dried off and got dressed. They met Ryuzaki and went back into the still messy kitchen just as the timer went off. L helped the girls put the cake in the refrigerator so it could cool down. The three stood in the kitchen, eating some of the strawberries while they waited for the cake to cool. Once it had, Naoko shooed Hiroko and L to stand back while she concentrated on frosting and decorating.

L stepped forward and watched the little girl make tiny flowers out of frosting and how she carefully placed each strawberry on the cake. "You should become a baker when you get older, Naoko."

Naoko beamed proudly. She was about to suggest that they serve everyone some cake when a loud commotion from the main area interrupted her. L rushed out of the kitchen with the two little girls following him.

"What is it?" L asked, taking his customary seat in front of the computers. He gave Matsuda a small nod when the man slid him a cup of tea.

"Sixteen criminals died last night. It's all the criminals that have been on television since Higuchi's death." Aizawa answered.

Hiroko and Naoko lingered a few steps back. "So, Higuchi wasn't Kira?" Hiroko asked uncertainly.

Naoko shook her head. "Higuchi was killing criminals. Does this mean a new Kira has shown up? Is there another notebook in this world?" She looked curiously up at Rem.

Rem nodded slowly at the little girl. "Must be. A shinigami wouldn't go out of its way to just kill criminals."

L stirred his tea thoughtfully. "These criminals started dying the moment Amane was released from custody."

Naoko shuddered. She could feel a strange change in Light's aura while he argued with L. He didn't seem worried at all despite how he was talking to the others. She looked over to ask Rem another question and blinked. "Hey, where'd Rem go?"

There was a sudden crash through the speakers of the computer where a large 'W' stood on a white background. L frowned. "Watari, what's wrong?"

Naoko let out a small gasp. She latched onto Hiroko's hand with her own trembling one. When Hiroko looked over at her worriedly, Naoko bit her lip. "Watari-san's aura…it's disappearing."

Despite how quiet Naoko was, L heard her. "Watari!"


	29. Can't Let Go

**Mangafreak666: You'll have to read this chapter to find out what happens to L, and what happens to the girls next :)**

**Tailsdoll123: Please don't give up on this story! I promise it'll still be good!**

**Sakura02: Haha, that was the inspiration for their flour fight. Ah…those were good times. We didn't make our Young Justice cookies!**

**pepe1800: You'll have to read the chapter to find out :)**

**Thanks: BANEHiwatari, Sakura Ichigo Morihiko, Saiyuri Haruno, smokeyuchiha, TabooElf, Tetra Muffins, QueenOfAshes, ilovezim123, SaiyukiSucker, Ratt9, Angel Lawliet, Live-Laugh-Love-Till-The-End, Fullmetal HawksEye Flames, and Princesa de la Luna for your reviews!**

* * *

Hiroko held Naoko's hand tightly in her own. She had heard her sister say that Watari's aura was disappearing, and she knew what that meant. The two girls lingered back from the panicked group of men. "It's okay, Naoko. Don't cry." She whispered, hugging her sister when she felt her trembling.

Naoko sniffled and clung to her sister. She always hated the feeling of someone's aura disappearing. It was even worse when she knew who the person was. She hated the way her stomach would sharply drop and it would feel like a piece of her heart cracked. She rubbed her eyes at the blindingly white screen on all the monitors with only a single sentence scrawled across the screen. "What's 'all data deleted' mean?"

L frowned at the screen. "I told Watari that if something were to ever happen to him, that he should delete all the data he possibly can. His system is set up to erase after a certain period of time as well. Girls, get over here. I don't want you out of sight right now." He placed a comforting hand on Hiroko's head as soon as the little girl was near him.

"Where'd the shinigami go?" Matsuda suddenly shouted. The rest of the group looked around, only just now realizing that Rem was no longer in sight.

"Ryuzaki, I'm scared." Hiroko sniffled, clinging to L's arm. She was about to crawl into her customary spot beside L. She blinked when he suddenly stiffened. "What's wrong, Ryu…Ryuzaki!" Hiroko screamed when L suddenly fell out of his chair. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Hiroko after that. She barely registered Light pushing her away from L or Naoko hugging her. It took her a moment to realize what was happening; L was dying.

"Hiroko!" Naoko tried to hold her sister back, but Hiroko was too stubborn.

"Ryuzaki, hang on!" Hiroko pushed Light away and knelt beside L. She clutched his hand tightly in hers. Tears rolled down her cheeks with no end in sight. She couldn't do anything for L. She couldn't stop his eyes from slowly fading or stop his shallow breathing. "Ryuzaki, please don't die. Please don't leave me."

L could barely make out Hiroko's face or Naoko's when she joined her sister at his side. He could barely feel their warm little hands holding his cold ones. He managed to pull his hands from theirs and place his hands on their cheeks. Though he could barely seem them, he could feel their tears. There was so much he wanted to tell the two girls, so much he had wanted to teach them. He couldn't use his voice, though. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed forever, was Light hovering behind the two girls with a wicked and triumphant smirk on his face.

"Ryuzaki…" Hiroko called softly. She grabbed his hand before it could completely slip from her cheek. "Ryuzaki, you can't sleep right now. We've got to find the shinigami. We've got to stop Kira." She squeezed his hand with one of her own and shook his shoulder with her other hand. "Wake up, Ryuzaki. This isn't funny."

"Hiroko…" Soichiro reached out and tried to pull Hiroko away from L's cold and lifeless body.

Hiroko shrugged Soichiro's hand away. She could hear Naoko sobbing beside her, but she couldn't will her body to move to comfort her younger twin. Hiroko reached out and played with L's bangs. She was surprised at how soft it was. He'd never let her touch his hair before. She couldn't stop crying. She placed her trembling hands on L's cheeks before leaning down and kissing his forehead. "Please don't leave me, Ryuzaki. I love you so much. I don't want to lose you."

The next hour was a complete blur to Hiroko. She didn't move from her spot beside L. She absentmindedly stroked his cheek and hair, hoping against hope that he would open his eyes. She hoped he would jump up and scare her. She wanted him to tease her for being a cry baby. She just wanted him to wake up. She wasn't even aware that Soichiro and the others had called an ambulance until they tried to pull her away from L's body. She suddenly came alive and began screaming hysterically. Light finally had to come over and pick Hiroko up so that they could move L's body.

Light tried to calm Hiroko's sobbing down and avoid being hit by the little girl's flying fist all at the same time. He gently pulled Naoko from the floor and into his free arm before finally making his way over to the couch. He had both girls on either side of him, both resting their heads against his legs and crying. He stroked their frazzled hair and murmured soothing words to the distraught children.

Hiroko reached over and took Naoko's hand. She pulled her sister's hand to her chest and continued crying. She held her hand out so Naoko could mimic her actions. "Ryuzaki's aura…?"

Naoko shook her head and cried. "It's gone…Ryuzaki-san's aura is gone…"

* * *

Hiroko woke up to find that the others were nowhere in sight. She sat up on the couch and looked blearily around. Naoko was still asleep beside her. Just as she was about to get off the couch, the others walked back into the room. "Where's Ryuzaki? Did you find the shinigami?" Her voice was hoarse and weak, even to her own ears.

Soichiro knelt down beside the couch in front of Hiroko just as Naoko began to stir awake. He held Hiroko's face between his hands and gently kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Hiroko. Ryuzaki is dead, as is the shinigami. We think the shinigami was the one that killed Ryuzaki and Watari."

"Ryuzaki can't be dead." Hiroko whimpered out. She could feel more tears brimming in her eyes, but they didn't fall. "I want Ryuzaki…"

The next ten days passed in a blur for the twins. Hiroko remained almost completely silent, only speaking to Naoko. Hiroko felt completely dead inside. She hadn't felt this hollow and empty since her mother had died. Every night, she cried herself to sleep and all she dreamed about was L's hand on her cheek and the fading light from his eyes.

"Hiroko, do you want to go eat something?" Naoko asked quietly. They were up in their room doing their homework.

"Not right now." Hiroko said, her voice cracking. She didn't immediately respond when Naoko hugged her. She rested her head on her sister's shoulder and sobbed. "Ryuzaki…"

Light walked into the room at that moment and smiled sadly. "Girls, you need to pack. We won't be staying here anymore."

"Where are we going?" Naoko asked, standing up and pulling her sister up with her. "Are we going to live with Soichiro-san again?"

Light knelt in front of the girls and shook his head. "No. You two will be living with me from now on. The police still believe L is alive, and we have to keep it that way. I will pretend to be L from here on out, and we will continue the investigation. We will find whoever is responsible for Ryuzaki's death."

Hiroko nodded slowly. She watched Light leave the room to give the girls time to pack. She did her best to hold her tears in. She vowed to herself then and there that she would not rest until Kira was brought to justice. She would make him pay for taking away someone she loved so much. She abruptly turned to Naoko. "We have to practice."

Naoko blinked. "Practice?"

"Our powers." Hiroko clarified. "We have to become stronger. I don't ever want to lose someone again."

Naoko nodded. "We will. We won't let Kira hurt anymore of our precious people."

Both girls looked up when Matsuda cautiously entered the room. He had his hands behind his back. He gave both girls a sad smile. "How're you two feeling?"

"Okay. I miss him." Hiroko said quietly. "We both do."

"I know." Matsuda said. He knelt down and finally took his hands from behind his back. In each hand was a picture frame. One frame was a pretty emerald green with butterflies on it and the other one was cerulean blue with different colored flowers decorating it. In both picture frames was the picture that Matsuda had taken of the girls and L only hours before he had died. All three of them were covered in flour and while L looked irritated, there was a warm light behind his eyes as he held both girls in his arms. "I know this isn't much, but I thought that having a picture of him might help."

Naoko took the frame with flowers and held it close to her chest. She gave Matsuda a small smile as tears fell from her eyes. "Thank you, Matsuda-san."

Hiroko took the picture frame slowly from Matsuda. She traced her finger over L's face. She sniffled and let her tears fall. She flung her arms around Matsuda's neck and sobbed. "Thank you, Matsuda." Was all she managed to choke out.

Matsuda reached out and pulled Naoko into the hug as well. "Everything is going to be okay, girls. We're all here for you. None of us will ever replace Ryuzaki, but we all love both of you and we'll always be here for you."

Neither girl said anything. They continued to cry and cry. Everything was changing so quickly, and they were both afraid. Kira was still out there, and L was gone.


	30. 5 Years Later

**BANEHiwatari: Oh yes, the girls will be meeting the Whammy Boys and chaos will ensue.**

**Sakura02: I think Hiroko is too emotionally scarred right now to say anything one way or the other. Mello will be showing up in this coming chapter :)**

**SaiyukiSucker: Haha, I'm sure I can find a framed picture of L somewhere for you ;)**

**Fullmetal HawksEye Flames: At least one of the Whammy Boys will be showing up in this chapter.**

**Thank you: LadyAmazon, pepe1800, ilovezim123, Tailsdoll123, torixx3, AngelSayori, Tetra Muffins, Saiyuri Haruno, Mangafreak666, GodsOfDeathLikeApples, ice devil cat demon, Marie Antonia, Princesa de la Luna, and AkaneSukishima for your reviews!**

**Over 300 reviews! Hope you guys will continue to read and enjoy the story!**

* * *

"Naoko, hurry up! Sayu-neechan is going to be waiting for us at the gate! We're going to be late! I can't believe you feel asleep again." Hiroko tapped her foot impatiently. She and Naoko had just turned thirteen the past week and were now in junior high. Light had allowed the girls to enroll in public school almost a year after L had died. Hiroko's brown hair was longer now and up in two pigtails. Her school uniform was mussed from having run from her classroom all the way over to Naoko's.

Naoko smiled apologetically at her sister. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and her uniform was still neat. When she stood, she was the same height as her older twin. "Sorry, Hiroko. I just had a really weird dream…"

Hiroko tilted her head to the side curiously. The two made their way out of the empty classroom and into the nearly empty hallway. "What kind of dream?"

Naoko chewed thoughtfully on her lip. "There were three men. I think I've dreamed about them before. They were much older than last time, though."

Hiroko nodded slowly. It had been a while since either of them had dreamed about the strange boys. "Maybe we'll get to meet them real soon. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"I don't know…" Naoko said slowly. "The blonde one always looks so scary…" Her eyes lit up when she saw the older girl waving to them from the gated school entrance. "Sayu-neesan!"

Sayu grinned at the two girls. "We'd better hurry. Mama is so excited to see the two of you."

The trio made their way over to the Yagami household. As soon as they were in the house, Sachiko sighed wistfully. "You girls are just growing up so fast."

Naoko smiled and took a seat beside Light with Hiroko sitting beside her on the arm of the couch. The little family sat and talked, and for the moment, all was right in the world. Nobody brought up the Kira case since Sachiko wouldn't allow them to speak about it in her household. Hiroko had just finished bragging about her new record in track when Soichiro's phone suddenly went off.

Soichiro answered it. "What is it, Aizawa?" His eyes widened suddenly. "The Director has been kidnapped!"

Naoko and Hiroko's eyes widened. Was this somehow linked to Kira? The trail had recently gone cold in the past few months. Both girls were already putting on their shoes and ready to go before Soichiro had finished speaking to Aizawa. In the last five years, the girls had gained more control of their powers. Both had helped in numerous cases to find missing people, and done what they could to help with the Kira case.

"Who would kidnap the NPA Director?" Hiroko asked once she, Naoko, Soichiro, Light, and Matsuda were all in the car.

Soichiro shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."

"The public hasn't exactly been thrilled with the police in the past few months." Matsuda piped up. "Maybe somebody with a grudge against the police?"

"Good thinking, Matsuda." Light said. He glanced over at Naoko. "Anything?"

Naoko shook her head remorsefully. "If I had something of the Director's, I might be able to find him easier…"

"I'll handle that." Soichiro assured. As soon as they reached Light's apartment building, they all leapt out of the car and rushed to Light's apartment where the rest of the Task Force was waiting for them.

The twins lingered back while the Task Force whispered together. Though they did help out a great deal, they weren't officially part of the Task Force. "Did the kidnappers demand anything?" Hiroko asked finally. "That may help us determine what kind of person we're looking for."

Aizawa nodded gravely. "Yes. They demanded a trade; the Director for the murder notebook."

Naoko's eyes widened. "How would they know about the notebook?"

"Maybe Kira is one of the kidnappers." Hiroko said, doubt in her voice.

Light sighed. "Girls, go do your homework and then go to bed. There's not much either of you can do right now."

Naoko and Hiroko both nodded. "We better call Sayu-neesan and let her know we can't go shopping with her tomorrow." Naoko said remorsefully. She'd really been looking forward to spending time with just Sayu and her sister. The three rarely got to spend much time together.

Light smiled and kissed both girls on the head. "No. You two go have fun tomorrow. If we really are in desperate need of your powers, we'll call you."

Hiroko grinned and hugged Light. "Thanks, Light!"

The next day after school let out, the girls met Sayu at the school gate and the trio immediately headed out to go shopping. The weather was cool and pleasant, which was nice since the girls walked to most of the shops.

"What's wrong, Hiroko-chan?" Sayu asked. The girls had finished shopping and were on their way back to the Yagami house for dinner.

Hiroko glanced over her shoulder one last time before giving a small smile. "Nothing. I just felt like we were being watched."

Sayu giggled. "You're so silly, Hiroko-chan."

Naoko glanced nervously over her shoulder while Hiroko vehemently protested. She could feel a very threatening aura nearby. She didn't like it one bit. "Maybe we should walk a little faster…" The next few moments happened in a complete blur. Naoko felt someone grab her from behind, but before she could knock them away with her telekinesis, the man pinched a nerve on her neck and everything went black.

* * *

Hiroko groaned and slowly opened her eyes. Everything hurt and her brain felt fuzzy and heavy. She frowned when she discovered she was tied to a chair. She glared at the group of men in front of her. "Who are you creeps? Where's my sister and Sayu-neechan? You assholes better not have hurt them!"

A large man laughed. "This one has quite the mouth on her. Do you think we should just get rid of her?"

Another one quickly shook his head. "No way. Mello said he wants these girls alive. He's gonna come talk to this one once he's done with the other one. As long as we keep her drugged, she can't do nothing to us."

Hiroko snarled. That explained why her mind felt so fuzzy and why she wasn't able to use her telekinesis. She grit her teeth and silently prayed that her sister and Sayu were all right.

In the room right next door, Naoko was already awake. "Please let me see my sister and Sayu-neesan." Naoko said quietly, keeping her head bowed. Two rather large and intimidating men were standing guard over her.

"Shut up, you." One of the men spat. "You keep talking and I'll put a bullet in your head."

Naoko whimpered. She bit her lip, refusing to allow the tears to fall from her eyes. She didn't think she'd ever been so afraid in her entire life. She also had never felt so helpless. She'd discovered very quickly after she woke up that she couldn't use any of her powers.

"You two, get out." Another male voice hissed. Naoko continued to stare down at the floor. She saw the man's leather boots stop just before her, but she didn't dare lift her head. The strong smell of chocolate hit her nose. Her voice wavered when she spoke. "May I please see my sister?"

"If you answer all my questions, yes." The man said.

Naoko lifted her head and stared at him. Her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. The man had short blonde hair and the angriest blue eyes she had ever seen. She immediately recognized him, though. "You're the boy from dreams!"


	31. Difficult Hostages

**Gahhh! I've been so bad about updating these past few months! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for being a horrible author!**

**AngelSayori: I love the manga Fairy Tail. Sakura02 and I have on occasion brought up a Fairy Tail baby, but we've never really been able to come up with anything. You never know, though :)**

**Sakura02: Poor Naoko has never had much luck with men…at least Mello's reaction to her saying that should be amusing.**

**AkaneSukishima: Don't worry; Hiroko will return to her usual feisty self soon enough. She's acting more subdued mostly because she's still pretty scarred by L's death and hasn't quite recovered from it. **

**Tetra Muffins: Matt will actually play a much bigger role in this story than he did in the manga :)**

**PhoenixPhlame: I want to reassure you that you did not offend me in anyway at all. I'm not really sure why Sakura02 and I decided there should be two girls instead of one, but I think a main reason was to have the one that was closer to L and then one that was closer to Light. Sakura02 and I had a big debate on whether or not to have the girls save L, but we ultimately decided not to. The reason for that is that they are still young and not in complete control of their powers. The story will deviate more from the canon from this point on, though. **

**Thanks: fiery, Tailsdoll123, BANEHiwatari, ilovezim123, Live-Love-Laugh-Till-The-End, Saiyuri Haruno, Mangafreak666, SaiyukiSucker, Fullmetal HawksEye Flames, and Princesa de la Luna for reviewing! **

* * *

Mello blinked once. He blinked twice. He did his best to keep his face stoic and calm. He'd heard hostages say many things when they first saw him. Most usually just begged for him to let them go. Tendou Naoko was definitely a first for him. "What?"

Naoko immediately lowered her head back down, her face red. She couldn't believe she'd actually blurted that out. This guy was going to kill her now, no question. She struggled when she felt leather covered hands forcing her head up. Her eyes locked with the blonde man's eyes.

"What did you just say?" Mello asked slowly, annoyance tingeing his voice. He was irritated enough as it was. The idiots were only supposed to bring back Yagami Sayu, not these two other girls. He was going to just have the girls killed, until he'd spoken with Sayu. She'd spilled about the girls and their…unique abilities. If he could control their powers, he could easily get the murder notebook.

"I said, you're the boy from my dreams." Naoko answered quietly. "I used to dream about you and two other boys when I was little. I actually had a dream about you right before your men kidnapped us. What're you going to do with us?"

Mello released her chin and took a few steps back. He still wasn't sure how to react to what Naoko had said, so he let it drop for the time being. "We'll be trading Yagami Sayu for the murder notebook."

"What about my sister and me?" Naoko asked, unable to hide the worry in her voice. "Are you going to kill us?"

"Not yet, no." Mello answered. "I may have need of your powers. For now, I'll be keeping the two of you. You're Naoko, correct?" He received a small nod from Naoko in response. "How did the two of you come to be with the Task Force?"

Naoko chewed on her lip. She really didn't want to answer the question, but she was worried about what might happen to herself, Hiroko, or even Sayu if she acted defiantly. "Our dad disappeared a few weeks before our mom was killed. Soichiro-san found us and took us in. We followed him one day to where the Task Force was meeting. L didn't…"

"So, you did know L." Mello interrupted.

Naoko nodded slowly, noticing the different emotions that flashed across Mello's face. "You knew L?"

"I'm asking the questions; not you." Mello snapped suddenly. "Were you there when L died?"

"How'd you…"

"I told you I'm asking the questions." Mello hissed. "Now, answer me."

Naoko glared at the blonde. She really couldn't stand him. "Yes. I saw L die. My sister and I were right beside him."

"What killed him?" Mello asked.

"We think it was the shinigami attached to the notebook." Naoko answered. "What's your name?"

Mello raised an eyebrow curiously. "Why should I tell you?"

"You mean other than the fact that you have me tied up and are threatening me, my sister, and Sayu-neesan?" Naoko asked coolly.

Mello smirked. "You're not as meek as Yagami Sayu made you sound. I'm Mello."

Naoko smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you, Mello-san. Although, I don't usually meet new people like this. Can I please see my sister now?"

Mello didn't say anything. He turned on his heels and left Naoko alone in the room. After giving quick instructions to the men standing outside the door, he made his way to the room where Hiroko was being held.

As soon as Mello walked in, Hiroko snarled angrily at him. "You better not have hurt my sister or Sayu-neechan!"

Mello raised a curious eyebrow at the men keeping an eye on Hiroko. "I thought I told you to keep her drugged."

"She is…" One of the men answered nervously. "She can't use none of her powers, but she's still pretty mouthy. Want me to shut her up?"

Mello sighed irritably. "No. Get out." He questioned Hiroko just as he had her sister and Sayu. He received the exact same story from her that he had received from Naoko, though with a much more colorful vocabulary. Once he was satisfied, he turned to leave the room. "Someone will be here for you and your sister shortly. I suggest you calm down before then."

"What about Sayu-neechan?" Hiroko hissed.

"She'll be traded for the murder notebook and be free to go home." Mello answered. He left the room to make a quick phone call. Once that was done, he ordered the men to untie Naoko and take her to the same room as her sister.

Naoko ran over and hugged Hiroko tightly as soon as they untied Hiroko. The drugs were still making it difficult for either of them to use their powers, but they didn't think it would be a good idea to try and escape. They'd need to still find Sayu, and they had no clue where they were. They'd be caught and probably killed for trying to escape. "You okay?"

Hiroko nodded. She snarled at the men that blocked the door. "We're not going to try and escape."

Mello rolled his eyes and shooed the rest of the men away. After a minute, it was only Mello and the girls standing in the room. He stared at both girls for a moment. Naoko wasn't doing well at hiding just how terrified she was. She looked like a scared little rabbit cornered by a predator. Hiroko, on the other hand, was masking her fear by glaring angrily at Mello. Mello took a bite from his chocolate bar. "A friend of mine will be here in a moment to take the two of you away. You'll be staying with him until I figure out how to best use the two of you."

Hiroko's glare increased. She held Naoko's hand tightly in hers. "We won't use our powers to help you. The Task Force will find you and they'll kick your ass."

"That's quite the mouth for a kid." A boy with red hair and goggles walked into the room, playing a handheld game. A cigarette was dangling from his mouth, making the two girls crinkle their nose in distaste.

"Ew, you're smoking a cancer stick!" Hiroko stuck her tongue out in disgust.

The boy looked up and frowned. "Are those the two I'm taking?"

Hiroko blanched. "I'm not going with Goggles! He reeks of smoke and I'm not getting lung cancer just because he's an idiot."

The boy's frown deepened. "First of all, my name is Matt, not Goggles. Second of all, you're not smoking so how can you possibly get lung cancer?"

"It's called second hand smoke, Moron. Look it up." Hiroko shot back.

Naoko giggled nervously. "Please calm down, Hiroko-chan."

"Am I allowed to hit them?" Matt asked Mello.

"You hit me and I'll beat you to a pulp!" Hiroko shrieked.

"I'd like to see you try, Munchkin." Matt sneered.

"That's it!"

What happened next shocked everyone. Hiroko lunged forward and tackled Matt to the ground. She yanked the cigarette out of his mouth and slapped him across the face. She got up and put the cigarette out with her shoe.

"M-my cigarette…." Matt whimpered pitifully. He glared at Hiroko. "You slapped me!"

Hiroko stuck her tongue out. "Don't call me a munchkin and I won't slap you."

Naoko looked appalled. She looked pleadingly at Mello. "Please don't kill her."

Mello rolled his eyes and yanked Matt off the ground. "I'm not going to kill your sister."

Hiroko went back and stood beside her sister. She placed her hands on her hips. "So, how long are we stuck with him?"

Mello sighed. He was already regretting his decision to let the girls live. "You're going to stay with Matt until I find a use for you or I get tired of listening to your voice and shoot you."

"May I call Light-san?" Naoko asked suddenly. She lowered her head when Mello whipped around to glare at her.

Mello looked at her for a moment. "Why?" He knew Yagami Light was a member of the Task Force and Sayu's older brother. Hiroko had also told him how the twins were living with him and how close Naoko was to Light.

"I promise I won't tell him anything. I…I just want to hear his voice again." Naoko answered timidly.

Mello tossed her a phone, ignoring the surprised look Matt gave him. "You have ten minutes and you have to put it on speaker."

Naoko quickly dialed the number, holding the phone close to her ear. When she heard Light's voice, she almost cried. "Hi, Light-san."

"Naoko, are you okay?" Light's worried voice asked. "I swear to you, I'm going to find a way to get you and Hiroko back."

Naoko smiled. "We're okay. I just wanted to hear your voice again. I miss you."

"I miss you too. Hang in there, Naoko. I'm going to get you back."

"That's enough." Mello said, yanking the phone away. He hung the phone up and tossed it across the room.

"When are we leaving with Game Boy?" Hiroko asked impatiently.

"My name is Matt! If you're going to make up stupid nicknames, then so am I, Shorty!"

"What'd you call me!"

Mello sighed and looked at Naoko. "I wish you the best of luck with those two."

Naoko laughed. "It won't be boring, at least."

Mello smirked and walked over to Matt. He whacked him upside the head, his smirk turning to a frown. "Would you act your age? Get these two out of here, now! I'll meet up with you later."

Matt led the way with a reluctant Hiroko close behind him. Naoko brought up the rear, smiling at Mello as she walked by him. "See you soon, Mello-san."

"Hang on a second." Mello pulled a red cellphone out of one of his pockets and held it out to Naoko. "It can only call my phone."

Naoko took it from Mello and gave him a curious look. "Why are you giving me a phone?"

Mello shrugged. "Just in case those two get too out of hand. You seem to be the most responsible one so if anything goes wrong, call me using that phone."

Naoko smiled and put the phone in her pocket. "Thank you, Mello-san."

"Hurry up, Naoko!" Hiroko ran back into the room, tugging impatiently on his sister's arm. "Goggles is getting cranky and I'm hungry!"

"Would you stop making up stupid nicknames, Brat!"

Hiroko snarled at the voice coming down the hallway. "I'm going to kick your seat the entire time we're in the car!"

"Then you'll sit in the front!"

"Then I'll grab the steering wheel!"

Naoko smiled sheepishly at Mello as Hiroko dragged her away. "See you soon, Mello-san." She managed to wave at him as she yanked around a corner.

Mello ran a hand through his blond hair and sighed. What had he just gotten himself into?


	32. Apartment Living

**Sorry I've been gone so long everyone! Been going through a lot these past few months. On the plus side, I did finish the fourth draft of my novel! Two more drafts before I start sending it out to agents. So excited!**

**Live-Laugh-Love-Till-The-End: Of course you can use 'cancer stick'. I don't remember where I first heard the term. **

**Sakura02: Lol, our twins don't take crap from anyone**

**Thanks: Fiery, AngelSayori, XxAmi. IzunexX, Saiyuri Haruno, smokeyuchiha, yvonna, Nicole, RosarioRose, SaiyukiSucker, Ulvida22, Sakurako-min, Nanaka, and Phoenix for reviewing!**

* * *

"Yo, Brother A to Z!" Hiroko shouted down the hallway of the small apartment.

Naoko sighed. She glared angrily over at her sister and then over at Matt who was grinning wickedly over at her. "Could you two please just give me your dirty clothes?"

Matt laughed, and completely ignored the clearly annoyed Naoko. "Yo, what's up B?"

"Seriously, you guys better not do this every time." Naoko scowled between the two of them.

Hiroko skipped out of her room with all of her dirty clothes. She quickly dumped them into the empty basket Naoko was impatiently holding out to her. "Yo, what time is it?"

Matt took his own dirty clothes over to Naoko and added them on top of Hiroko's pile. "It's Laundry Day!"

Naoko groaned and hung her head in defeat. This was only the Naoko and Hiroko's first week living with Matt in the little two bedroom apartment. Matt usually spent most of his energy torturing Hiroko when he wasn't busy playing his video games. Unfortunately, the two had also found that it was rather amusing to torture Naoko as well as each other.

"Remember, just do the laundry and come back." Matt called as Naoko headed towards the door. "If you're gone for too long…"

"I know. I won't be gone long." Naoko quickly ran out of the tiny apartment and made her way downstairs to the laundry room. She stood in front of one of the large metal tables, sorting clothes out. Once that tedious task was out of the way, she tossed the clothes into all the available washers. The only thing to do now was wait. Naoko sat on top of the table, kicking her legs while she watched the clothes spin around. She rubbed at the small bracelet around her wrist irritably. The bracelet forced a continuous flow of drugs into Naoko's bloodstream so she couldn't use her powers. Hiroko had a similar one and neither were able to take it off. Hiroko had tried multiple times and received some pretty nasty shocks for her efforts. Naoko blinked when the cellphone in her pocket began ringing.

"Hi, Mello-san." She answered the phone, a smile breaking out on her face.

"How are things going?" Mello's curt reply came statically over the phone.

"The same. Hiroko and Matt-san are constantly fighting. Yesterday, Hiroko threw Matt-san's DS out the window. He cried for hours in a corner about it. To get her back, Matt-san put laxatives in her cereal." She giggled slightly at the annoyed sigh that came over the phone. "Have you talked to Light-san at all?"

There was a slight pause over the phone. "Yes."

Naoko's smile widened. "What'd he say?"

"He's trying to negotiate with us with money. Naoko," Mello's voice was very serious. "you and your sister are not going back to him."

Naoko was silent for a moment, simply kicking her feet in the air. "Why are you so obsessed with trying to find Kira? Were you and L-san close?"

"I'll join up with you three soon." Mello's answer was clipped.

"Bye, Mello-san." Naoko sighed out, not missing how Mello had avoided her question.

"Bye." Mello said shortly.

Naoko sighed once she heard the dial tone. She moved the clothes into the dryers and waited patiently. She took her time getting the clothes out of the dryer and folding them, fearing what awaited her back in the apartment. Would there be pasta sauce on the ceiling, a sobbing Matt in a corner, or would they completely destroy the apartment? Slowly, she made her way back up the stairs to the fourth floor, pausing outside the apartment door.

"That does not describe me!"

Naoko groaned and opened the door, preparing herself for the worst. She screamed when she was tackled to the ground by a very upset Hiroko. After mentally wailing over the ruined laundry, she patted her twin on her back. "What's wrong, Hiroko?"

Hiroko sniffled, looking up at Naoko with her biggest puppy dog eyes. "Tell Smokey the Bear over there that that song does not describe me!"

Naoko managed to get her distraught sister off of her long enough to stand up and walk into the small living room. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave Matt a stern look. "What did you do this time?"

Matt put his hands up defensively. "She kept saying that stupid song 'Cancer' by MCR described me so I pointed out that 'Teenagers' described her. She didn't believe me so I played it for her and then she got all upset."

Naoko thought about the lyrics for a moment and then looked apologetically at Hiroko. "Well…"

Hiroko began wailing and tackled Naoko to the ground. "Not you too, Naoko! He's corrupted you, hasn't he!" She climbed off of Naoko and tackled Matt to the ground. "What have you done to my sister!"

Matt yelped and quickly scrambled away from Hiroko, managing to lock himself in his room. "Get away from me you psycho!"

Naoko rolled her eyes and stood up from the ground. She dusted her clothes off. "I'll make lunch. You two can put your own laundry away."

"Why are you abandoning me, Naoko! I need your help!" Hiroko whined.

"Please don't break anything!" Naoko called out from the kitchen. She decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Naoko began preparing everything, humming quietly to herself to try and tune out Hiroko and Matt's fighting.

Lunch was ready and Naoko managed to get Hiroko to release Matt from a headlock long enough to get the two to the table and eat. She rolled her eyes when the two began throwing food at each other. "I'm not cleaning up your messes anymore."

Hiroko huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Pinky started it." She muttered.

"Do I look pink to you, Grumpy?"

And so the day continued. Naoko, despite her threat, cleaned up after Hiroko and Matt, praying for Mello to join them soon so she'd have someone semi-sane to talk to. Once the sun had set, Naoko and Hiroko both collapsed onto their separate beds in their shared room.

"Do you miss him, Naoko?" Hiroko whispered quietly.

"Who?"

Hiroko rolled her eyes. "Light."

"Yes." Naoko said immediately. "I miss Aizawa and the others too. They're probably all really worried about us."

"We'll find a way back to them." Hiroko was quiet for a few minutes afterwards. She let out a sudden yelp of pain and curse words flew from her mouth.

Naoko smiled over at her sister. "I told you to stop messing with the bracelet. It's not going to come off unless Matt-san or Mello-san takes it off."

Hiroko huffed irritably. "Remind me to punch Goggles in the face tomorrow."

Naoko giggled. "Good night, Hiroko."

* * *

"What the hell did you do to my hair!"

Naoko's eyes shot open and she quickly ran out into the living room. She had to stifle a giggle at the sight before her. "It's a little early to be playing pranks."

Matt had Hiroko in a headlock and he was furious, not that Naoko blamed him. She'd probably be really angry if she woke up with hot pink hair too. Matt glowered at Naoko.

"She's evil!"

Hiroko stuck her tongue out. "Now you really are the Geek in the Pink!"

Naoko sighed and just rolled her eyes. "I'm going to make breakfast."


	33. Apartment Warfare

**Sakura02: Lol, that's just the way Naoko is. She can't help being polite.  
Phoenix: He'll become more laidback later on. Right now, he's currently trying to survive being stuck with an evil teenage girl out to get him  
WolfishMoon: Thanks! Writing a novel is definitely time consuming and exhausting, but so worth it. I'll be doing NaNoWriMo for the second time this November. I wish you luck in your own novel!  
limegreenwordmachine: Thank you for the advice! I'm definitely trying to keep the girls from becoming Mary-Sue's. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story!**

**Thanks: ilovezim, Live-Laugh-Love-Till-The-End, Saiyuri Haruno, AkaneSukishima, FullMetal-Flames, AngelSayori, SaiyukiSucker, Neelh, Princesa de la Luna, and Guest for your reviews!**

* * *

"Hiroko, you're doing it again." Naoko said, glancing up from her book and over at her twin.

Hiroko tore her eyes away from Matt's closed bedroom door. She pouted over at Naoko and slouched down on the couch. "Doesn't it bother you at all? I mean, where did he even find a girl like that?"

Naoko shrugged. "It doesn't bother me that Matt brought a girl here. He's probably bored being stuck with us." She raised a curious eyebrow at her sister. "Why does it bother you so much?"

"He should be keeping us entertained!" Hiroko huffed indignantly. "We're his guest after all."

"We aren't guest, we're hostages." Naoko reminded, tapping her sister's bracelet lightly with her index finger. She snuggled back into her corner of the couch, ignoring her sister getting up and moving about. "Whatever you're about to do, don't."

Hiroko poked her head out from the closet she had been rummaging through. "I'm not doing anything…"

Naoko glanced up over the top of her book and gasped. "Hiroko, don't you dare. You're going to get us both in trouble! Put that back, now!"

Hiroko grinned wickedly at her sister. She finished loading the pellets into the airsoft gun. "I still owe him for rigging the toilet the other day."

"You dyed his hair pink." Naoko reminded. She sighed and watched her sister creep over to Matt's door. She went back to reading her book, wanting no part in the chaos her twin was about to cause. "I'm not going to feel bad for you when you get electrocuted."

"He'll thank me in the long run." Hiroko mumbled. She took a deep breath before throwing the door open.

Naoko kept her face buried in the book, flinching at the loud war cry Hiroko let out. She could hear the loud smack of the airsoft pellets connecting with flesh and wall alike. The sound of Matt's howl of fury and the woman's shriek of pain. Naoko peered over her book in time to watch the blonde woman pulling her shirt down and rushing out of the apartment, the door loudly slamming behind her.

"What the hell, Hiroko?" Matt shouted, yanking the airsoft gun out of Hiroko's hand and waving it angrily in the teenager's face. "You're lucky I don't shock you into unconsciousness right now!"

"You're not supposed to have people over!" Hiroko shouted back. "Mello said so! I'm going to have Naoko tell on you!"

"How old are you?" Matt yelled back. "Wait until I have Naoko tell Mello what you did!"

"Please don't drag me into your fight." Naoko muttered, flipping to the next page in her book. She did her best to drown out the continuous sounds of Hiroko and Matt yelling at each other. She was even able to ignore the sound of Matt shooting the airsoft gun at Hiroko's feet and causing the teen to yelp. The sound of the door slamming open caused her to look up.

"What the hell is going on!"

Matt and Hiroko froze, and turned toward the door. Matt was the first to speak. "Uh…hey, Mello."

"Why the hell is your hair pink, Matt?" Mello raised an eyebrow at the sight before him. He wasn't ready for the torrent of angry yelling from both Hiroko and Matt, both trying to explain their side of the story and how horrible the other was. He looked over at Naoko who had gotten off the couch and walked over to the group.

Naoko smiled brightly. "Welcome back, Mello-san." She let out a small gasp when Mello pulled the hood of his jacket down. "What happened!"

Mello idly touched the scar, and shrugged. "A slight miscalculation on my part. I had a brief encounter with…" He quickly stopped when he remembered who it was that had asked him.

"Did you go to the hospital?" Matt asked curiously, shooting a random shot at Hiroko's feet and making the girl screech angrily.

Mello glared over at Matt. "Yes, Matt, I just waltzed into a hospital and they patched me up without calling the cops."

"You don't have to be a pissy woman about it. I was just asking." Matt retorted.

"What do you mean by that!" Hiroko growled, finally managing to get the airsoft gun out of Matt's hand. She began shooting at his feet, grinning when he kept shouting angrily.

Mello raised an eyebrow before looking back over at Naoko. "This is what you've had to deal with?"

Naoko shrugged, her smile never leaving her face. "You get used to it." She wrinkled her nose. "You smell horrible, Mello-san. Go take a shower."

Mello raised an eyebrow. "You, a thirteen year old girl, are ordering me, a member of the mafia, around?"

Naoko hesitated for a moment. "Yes. You smell horrible and your clothes are filthy. I didn't keep this apartment clean just for you to come in and dirty it up. Go shower now."

Mello frowned before walking off to the bathroom. "I'm only going because I want a shower, not because you told me to."

"Leave your dirty clothes outside the door so I can wash them." Naoko called out after Mello slammed the bathroom door shut. She finally took the airsoft gun from Hiroko, pointing it to each of them in turn. "Stop it, now."

Hiroko glared over at Matt as soon as Naoko had her back to them. "I totally beat you."

Matt jumped up. "The hell you did!"

Naoko rolled her eyes and walked over to the bathroom door where a pile of dirty clothes were. She picked them up disdainfully. "Do you need anything else, Mello-san?"

"No." Came the muffled reply through the door. "You and Hiroko need to get ready to leave."

Naoko leaned against the closed door. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to meet an acquaintance of mine." Mello replied.

"Oh." Naoko pushed off from the door and dumped the clothes in the dirty clothes bin. She peeked into the living room and saw that Hiroko and Matt were rolling around on the ground fighting. "Hiroko, Mello-san says we need to get ready to leave."

Hiroko wriggled out from underneath Matt. "Sweet! I was getting tired of being cooped up in this place with Game Boy."

The two girls walked into their shared room, ignoring Matt yelling at Hiroko. They began to quickly dress. "Hey, Naoko, where do you think Mello got that scar?"

Naoko shrugged, though there was a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I don't know."

"Are you two ready yet?" Mello shouted from the living room.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Hiroko rolled her eyes and waltzed out of the room, Naoko walking slowly behind her. "So, where are we going?"


	34. A New Ally

**ilovezim123: I hadn't thought of that!  
Sakura02: Lol, yes. Darling is showing up in this chapter!**

**Thank you: Saiyuri Haruno, Guest, Yami Mizuna, yvonna, SaiyukiSucker, Phoenix, Tetra Muffins, and Smokeyuchiha for your reviews.**

* * *

"Why are we in a somebody's room?" Hiroko hissed.

Naoko shifted nervously next to Mello. "This is breaking and entering. We could get arrested."

"Just be quiet you two." Mello growled out. He had to keep himself from rolling his eyes at the fact that Naoko was worried about being arrested. "If you two do not be quiet, I will make you be quiet." He glared pointedly at the bracelets the two girls were still wearing.

The three were pressed tightly against a wall, Mello closest to the door with Naoko beside him and Hiroko beside her. Hiroko was fuming furiously and Naoko looked like a scared little rabbit. Mello seemed impatient, waiting for whoever it was that the room belonged to.

The door opened and Mello pointed his gun at the person who entered. It was a woman with long blonde hair, wearing a professional business suit. She held a finger up to her lips, seemingly unfazed that Mello was pointing a gun at her. Her eyes did widen slightly when she saw the two girls pressed tightly against the wall.

"Near, I'll remove the bugging device while I take a shower." The woman said. She set a small device on a nearby end table and motioned for the three to follow her into the bathroom.

Naoko and Hiroko settled down on the floor of the bathroom, pulling their knees up to their chests. Mello leaned against the wall of the bathroom.

"So, these charming young girls must be Hiroko-chan and Naoko-chan. I'm Halle Lidner." The woman said as she stepped into the shower. She threw her clothes out onto the floor. "It's nice to finally meet the two of you, though these are rather odd circumstances. I'm very sorry about Soichiro-san. You two seem to be holding it together, though. "

Hiroko looked over at the shower. "What are you talking about? What happened to Soichiro?"

"You didn't tell them, Mello?" The woman asked after a beat.

Mello snarled, trying his best to ignore the wide eyed looks the girls were sending his way. "We'll discuss this later."

"What happened to Soichiro?" Hiroko repeated, her tone reaching a note of hysteria.

"He's dead…" Naoko said when Mello refused to meet their gaze. "That's where you got the scar, isn't it."

"This is not up for discussion." Mello hissed out.

"Girls, why don't you go wait outside so that Mello and I can talk?" Halle said softly.

The two girls reluctantly left the room and sat on the bed, waiting patiently for the two to emerge from the bathroom. Hiroko leaned on Naoko's shoulder as her twin began sobbing. Hiroko chewed on her bottom lip, trying her best to keep the tears at bay. A few managed to slip out. She let out a strangled sob. Soichiro had been one of the kindest people the twins had ever met. He'd always taken care of them and protected them the best he could.

"I never meant for him to die." Mello said, coming out of the bathroom. "He was an unfortunate casualty. I am …" He cut himself off once Halle walked into the room. He had to remind himself that the girls were hostages. He didn't need to explain himself to them. He pulled his gun back out and pressed it against Halle's head. "Let's go."

Hiroko and Naoko walked a few steps behind Mello as he followed Halle to SPK headquarters. Halle led the group into the main room of the SPK. As soon as they entered the room, two men were pointing guns at the group.

"Welcome, Mello." A boy with white hair sat on the floor, his back towards the group. "Everyone, please lower your guns."

Naoko and Hiroko remained behind Mello, both unsure of what they were supposed to do. "Why the hell did you bring us here?" Hiroko growled out. She was mad. Mello was just lucky that she couldn't use her powers at the moment.

"I assume you two are the twins the NPA have been searching for." The white haired boy stated.

Mello and the two other men lowered the guns. "Yeah, this is them, Near." He glared at Near's back. "This is all as you planned so far, isn't it?"

"Yes." Near replied. "I want to thank you for helping me to close in on Kira."

Mello growled and pointed a gun at the back of Near's head. "I'm not a tool for you to use, Near!"

Naoko grabbed Mello's arm that held the gun. "Mello-san!" She flinched when she saw the two men point their guns at Mello, this time though, she was in the line of fire. "Mello-san, please put the gun down."

"I don't want to repeat myself." Near said calmly. "Do not point your guns at Mello. Mello, if you want, you may shoot me."

Mello glared hatefully at Nears back. His eyes cut over to Naoko's pleading face. He sighed and lowered his gun. "I just came to get the photo you have of me. And, I want to ask a favor of you."

Near tossed Mello's photo to him. "What sort of favor do you need?"

"I want you to keep Hiroko and Naoko with you."

"What?" Both girls cried out, startling everyone in the room.

"I'm not staying here!" Hiroko growled out. "For one thing, I'm tire of being cooped up in tiny rooms with weird people. For another, I am not a piece of meat to be passed from one person to the next! We're staying with Mello and Game Boy until we can go back to the NPA! You aren't getting rid of us that easily after telling us what you did!"

Naoko pinched Mello's arm, glaring angrily at him. "You shouldn't make decisions for us without asking us. You owe us the truth."

Halle chuckled. "Well, it seems you're stuck with them."

"Should anything happen," Near spoke softly. "I will allow the girls to stay here."

Mello rolled his eyes. "I knew it was a bad idea to kidnap the two of you. Near, I have no intention of working with you. However, I will tell you something about the notebook of death. The notebook belongs to a shinigami and it's only when you have the notebook that you can see the shinigami."

"That's a lie!" One of the men protested. "There's no way such creatures exist."

"It's not a lie." Hiroko shouted back. "Naoko-chan and I have seen them!"

"I believe you, Mello." Near said.

"Another thing is, some of the rules are fake." Mello turned around, putting his gun away. "Let's go, Naoko, Hiroko."

Hiroko stuck her tongue out at the two men and Naoko bowed apologetically to them. Hiroko walked on Mello's right side while Naoko was on his left. "So," Hiroko said as they walked out of the SPK. "what are we gonna do now?"

"We'll join back up with Matt. We need to start planning our next move." He cut his eyes over to Naoko. "It was the truth; I never intended for Soichiro to die. He and I were…negotiating. He found out my real name and was going to write it in the notebook. One of my men wasn't dead. He shot Soichiro, on my orders. It was him or me. I will do whatever it takes to capture Kira, no matter what the cost may be. Now, let's go." He began walking for the exit, not bothering to see if the girls were following him or not.

"That sounds lonely." Naoko said, though Mello didn't hear her. She looked over at her sister and gave her a sad smile. She took Hiroko's hand and the two quickly followed after Mello.

"This is all Kira's fault." Hiroko muttered. "If it weren't for him, Mello would've never been after the notebooks. Soichiro wouldn't have died."

"We'll help find him." Naoko promised. "We'll help stop him."


	35. Back to Japan

**Phoenix: The girls will eventually spend some more time with Near, so you'll get to see more of their lovely relationship.  
Lady Miel Cacao: They will have an interesting relationship, to say the least.  
Sakura02: Haha…it's going to be difficult to stop Kira before he goes super ultra-crazy.**

**Thanks: ilovezim123, Yami Mizuna, AngelSayori, smokeyuchiha, BibiNyan, AL19, and Princesa de la Luna for reviewing!**

* * *

Naoko sighed and curled up on the beaten up sofa that Mello had dragged into their hideout. She looked up at Mello with pleading eyes. "Can I please call Hiroko? I haven't gotten to talk to her in almost a week."

Mello sighed and bit into a piece of chocolate. He rummaged around in his pants pocket until he pulled out his cell phone. "Ten minutes." Was all he said. He tossed the phone over to the teenager.

Naoko smiled gratefully at Mello and dialed Matt's cell phone number. She listened to it ring for a few seconds before Matt's voice answered.

"What is it, Mello? Has anything happened on your end?" Matt asked.

Naoko giggled and sat up on her knees. "It's Naoko. Nothing's happened by the way. Misa is just babbling like she always does. Can I talk to Hiroko?" She could hear Hiroko screaming at Matt in the background to give her the phone. She could hear a slight scuffle and then she heard her twin's voice.

"Are you okay, Naoko?" Hiroko cried into the phone. "Is he feeding you? You better be eating! I know how you get when you're scared. You don't eat anything and you don't sleep and….and…and…I miss you! It's so boring being stuck here with Game Boy! All he does is play video games. He's not even watching the monitors like he's supposed to!"

Naoko bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing. She waved her hand dismissively at Mello, who was looking at Naoko with raised eyebrows. "I'm fine, Hiroko. Yes, Mello-san is feeding me and I am eating. I miss you too."

Mello frowned as he watched Naoko talking and laughing with her twin on the phone. He'd be damned if admitted it to anyone (although Matt had teased him about it) but he had gotten used to Naoko being around. He always thought she looked like a little rabbit since she always looked so nervous. If Kira was indeed in the NPA, then he would never allow Naoko (or even Hiroko) to return there.

"Mello-san, are you listening?"

Mello blinked and looked up at Naoko standing in front of him. She held his phone in his face. He snatched the phone away from her. "What?"

Naoko winced. "I was just trying to give you your phone back."

Mello sighed. "Sorry. C'mon, we need to go follow Amane."

Naoko quickly pulled on her coat and put on her sunglasses. She followed Mello's quick strides out of the room and into the busy streets. The two followed Misa on the other side of the street. "You know, I could help if you'd take this bracelet off of me."

"And risk you slamming me into a wall and running off?" Mello scoffed. "That's not going to happen."

Naoko huffed indignantly. " I wouldn't do that…"

Mello looked over at the upset teenager. He was about to say something when his phone began ringing. "What is it, Matt?"

"Aizawa is across the street talking to Mogi." Matt said, watching the two men from the window. "I don't know what they're saying, but it seems pretty serious…Hiroko, get away from the window before I shock you into next week!"

Hiroko glared over at Matt. She stuck her tongue out, but quickly complied. Matt seemed to look for just about any excuse to shock her. She flopped back down on the couch while Matt finished up his conversation with Mello. Once he'd hung up, Hiroko began whining. "I'm hungry! When are we going to have lunch, Goggles?"

"Is there an off switch on you?" Matt muttered irritably. He picked up a pillow as he walked by and smacked Hiroko in the face with it. "Ramen okay?"

Hiroko pouted. "I guess. It's not like there's anything else in here." She looked over the back of the couch at Matt in the kitchen. "Hey, Matt, if you took this bracelet off of me, I could help you."

"No way." Matt said firmly. "Mello told me what you two can do. I'd rather not get thrown around."

Hiroko threw the pillow angrily at the back of his head. "You and Mello are jerks! You think Naoko and I are freaks, just like everyone else does! The only people that weren't ever scared of us were the NPA and L! L always encouraged us to use are powers, and not be scared of them!" Hiroko let out a choked sob. She'd been trying to hard not to think of L while they were stuck with Mello and Matt. She blinked when she felt a hand hesitantly resting on her head. She looked curiously up at Matt's unsure face.

"I don't think you're a freak." Matt said nervously. "I actually think it's kind of cool, and if I wasn't worried about you tossing me out the window, I'd take the bracelet off. You have to admit it, if you had the chance, you'd totally throw me around."

Hiroko let out a small giggle and wiped her tears away. "Yeah, I probably would."

Matt jumped over the back of the couch and sat next to the teen. "So, you really got to meet L in person?"

"Yes." Hiroko answered softly. "At least, he always said he was L. We called him Ryuzaki. Why is Mello so intent on catching Kira?"

Matt shifted nervously. "You better not tell him I said anything." When Hiroko gave him an excited nod, Matt spoke. "Mello, Near, and I…we all grew up together in the Whammy Orphanage."

"That was the orphanage Watari owned!" Hiroko said. She quickly closed her mouth when Matt glared at her.

"Like I was saying, we all grew up together. L was looking for a successor among all the orphans, so he'd talk to us and answer all of our questions through a video chat every once and a while. We never saw his face though. Mello and Near were always tied for who would be L's successor. Mello has always admired L…" The sound of hissing water made him stop. "Ramen!"

Hiroko laughed as Matt scrambled over the back of the couch and into the kitchen. "You're stupid, Goggles."

"Shut up or I won't feed you." Matt shouted from the kitchen.

xXx

"Mello-san, why is Misa-san going into the airport?" Naoko asked, allowing Mello to tug her impatiently into the airport. Her eyes widened when she saw Mogi and she almost called out to him until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Mello's sunglass covered eyes, questioning him silently.

"Matt, what the hell is Amane doing at the airport?" Mello snarled. He listened impatiently to Matt's excuse and sighed irritably. "Naoko and I are following Amane and Mogi to Japan. You and Hiroko come later."

Naoko squeaked as Mello dragged her through the airport, buying their tickets and quickly boarding the plane that Misa and Mogi had just gotten on. Naoko and Mello somehow managed to get on the plane without either Mogi or Misa seeing them. They sat in the back of the airplane, keeping a close eye on Mogi and Misa.

"So, you and Near-san think that Kira is in the NPA?" Naoko asked quietly.

Mello glanced over at Naoko, frowning at how nervous she looked; like a little rabbit. "Yes."

Naoko bit her lip. "Oh."

Mello sighed. "You don't think he's there?"

Naoko shook her head sleepily. "They saved Hiroko and me. They took us in. All of them are so kind, I just can't see any of them being Kira."

Mello was silent until the plane took off. He looked down when he felt Naoko's head rest against his arm, only to find the teenager asleep. He motioned the stewardess over and quietly asked her for a pillow and blanket. He took the pillow and blanket from the stewardess, lifting Naoko's head up so he could put the pillow against the side of his arm. He gently placed her head back down on the pillow and covered her with the blanket. He settled in as comfortably as he could in order to watch Misa and Mogi. He had a long flight ahead of him.

xXx

"Where the hell are we going!? Would you please slow down!? You're going fifteen miles over the speed limit! We're gonna get pulled over!"

Matt groaned. "Would you just shut up!? We're going to the airport to catch the next flight to Japan. No, I can't slow down. I'm aware that I'm speeding. No, we are not going to get pulled over."

Hiroko huffed and slouched down in her seat. "Why are we going back to Japan?"

"The NPA is back in Japan now. We're going to follow them. Hiroko," Matt's voice became serious. "did you ever suspect someone in the NPA of being Kira?"

Hiroko fiddled nervously in her seat. "Yes…No…I don't know."

"That's not cryptic or anything." Matt muttered. "Well, who do you maybe think it is?"

Hiroko shook her head. "I can't tell you."

Matt frowned. "Why not? Do you agree with him?"

Hiroko's head shot up, her blue eyes blazing furiously. "No! He killed Ryuzaki! I'll never forgive him for that! But," She bit her lip. "Naoko saw his aura change right before Ryuzaki died…I never thought much about it until recently. This person is really important to Naoko…and to me. If he's really Kira, I don't know what Naoko and I will do…"

Matt sighed. "Why are you women so complicated?"

Hiroko shrugged. "I don't know. Why are you men such a pain in the ass?"

Matt laughed. "Touché."

The two finally arrived at the airport. They walked casually into the airport and got their tickets and went through security without incident. They boarded the plane and waited for take-off. As the pilot began speaking before takeoff, Matt noticed the Hiroko was fidgeting nervously, her eyes tearing up.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked.

Hiroko whimpered as the engine started up. "I hate planes." She began crying as the plane slowly started moving. She gasped as she felt arms wrap tightly around her and pull her into a warm side. She looked up confused, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "What are you doing, Game Boy?"

Matt gently whapped her head. "Shut up. I'm trying to make you feel better."

Hiroko was about to protest but the airplane picked up speed. She clutched tightly to Matt, burying her face in his chest. She smiled slightly through her tears when Matt wrapped one arm gently around her head, covering her ears so she couldn't hear the roar of the engine. She fell asleep that way, holding tightly to Matt.

"Does your sister need anything, sir?" A stewardess asked kindly.

Matt grinned at the woman. "A blanket please. She gets cold very easily." He thanked the stewardess when she returned with the blanket, draping it over Hiroko. He had to admit to himself, when Hiroko wasn't awake and screaming like a banshee, she wasn't that bad.


	36. Grocery Shopping

**Sakura02: Haha, oh Matt…**

**Thanks: smokeyuchiha, ilovezim123, AngelSayori, Princesa de la Luna, Lady Meil Cacao, and Phoenix for reviewing!**

**Sorry that it's kind of short...**

* * *

"I'm not eating ramen again." Hiroko grouched, glaring viciously at the innocent looking pack of noodles.

Matt looked back in the almost bare pantry. "We've got macaroni and cheese…"

Naoko opened up the fridge. There wasn't much in there except for a jug of water and some lunchmeat. She looked over at Mello who was busy on his laptop. "Mello-san, we need groceries."

"We don't have time for that." Mello clipped out, his gaze never wavering the screen. "You'll just have to make do."

Naoko chewed on her lip for a moment, debating whether or not what she was about to suggest would earn her a shock. "Hiroko and I could go…" She flinched away when Mello looked up sharply. When she didn't feel a sharp jolt of electricity through her body, she dared to look up and continue. "We can disguise ourselves. We wouldn't try and run away."

"I am getting pretty sick of ramen." Matt piped up, earning a sharp glare from Mello.

Mello looked at the three pouting and pleading faces staring him down. He sighed irritably and closed his laptop. "Fine, but there are rules…"

xXx

Hiroko looked nervously down at the sidewalk. She was awfully close to the edge due to how crowded the sidewalk was. She rubbed nervously at the bracelet on her wrist, hoping she wouldn't receive a nasty shock. She had to resist the urge to scratch at the long blonde wig she was wearing. "I hate wigs."

Naoko smiled good naturedly at her sister. She was wearing a short red wig. "I seriously doubt they'll shock you if you just step off the sidewalk."

"I'm not taking any chances. He said he'd shock us if we strayed from the route, and I'm not going to be the guinea pig to see how far is too far." Hiroko grouched, barely managing to keep her balance when she was roughly shoved into. "Mello has some of the dumbest rules I've ever heard! Does he really think we're going to run off?"

"Well, yeah…they did kidnap us." Naoko reminded. "This would be the most opportune time for us to try and make a break for it."

Hiroko muttered angrily under her breath, but didn't say anything else. The two eventually made it to the grocery store without either of them stepping off the sidewalk. Hiroko leaned against the shopping cart and whined. "How long is this going to take? I'm hungry."

"We just got here." Naoko said, rolling her eyes at her sister. She pulled out the grocery list she'd made since all Mello wanted was more chocolate, and Matt just wanted food. "This shouldn't take too long. Come on. You can even get a candy bar."

"Mello better not try and eat my candy bar…" Hiroko sulked. She followed after her sister through the entire grocery store, obediently getting down whatever Naoko told her to. She frowned when they came to the chip aisle. "I can't reach them…"

Naoko began looking around for an employee, when the bag of chips were suddenly being held up to her. She took the bag and smiled gratefully at the man that had gotten them down. "Thank you, sir."

The man nodded. He had shoulder length black hair and wore glasses. He wore a black business suit. "Where are your parents?"

Hiroko huffed indignantly. "We're not kids! We're thirteen years old!"

The man nodded again. He frowned thoughtfully after a beat. "Shouldn't you two be in school?"

"We just moved here from America, so we haven't enrolled yet." Naoko said quickly, hoping the man would believe them. She gave him her most charming smile she could muster up. "Thanks again for the help…"

"Ah, I'm Mikami Teru." The man said, inclining his head to the two girls.

"I'm Togashi Nadeshiko, and this my sister, Togashi Hotaru." Hiroko said, both girls bowing politely to Mikami. "Come on, Hotaru. Mom is probably wondering why we're taking so long."

"Right." Naoko bowed again to Mikami. "Thanks again, Mikami-san!" The two girls made their way to the checkout as quickly as possible. While Hiroko was busy picking out which candy bar she wanted, Naoko happened to look up from putting the groceries on the conveyor belt. She blinked and poked Hiroko in the side. "Hiroko, isn't that one of the guys that works for Near-san?"

Hiroko looked up. She noticed the black haired man staring down the aisle they had just come from. "I think so…we should probably get out of here."

The two quickly paid with the cash Mello had given them and bolted out of the grocery store as fast as they possibly could. They ran up the apartment stairs with the groceries, and banged on the door until Matt finally answered.

Matt raised an eyebrow at the twins' eschewed wigs. "What's up? Did something happen?"

"We saw one of the guys that works for Near!" Hiroko said, dumping the groceries onto the counter.

Mello closed his laptop and frowned. "Are you sure?"

Naoko nodded, already starting to carefully put the groceries away. "Yes. It was the dark haired guy. It looked like he was watching someone…"

Mello irritably bit into a piece of chocolate. "Did he see the two of you?"

"I don't know." Naoko answered honestly. "We had our wigs on the whole time, so if he did, he probably didn't recognize us." She looked at all the groceries, trying to decide what to make for dinner. "I'm going to make spaghetti. Oh, here, Mello-san." She tossed him a chocolate bar. "This is your favorite kind, right?"

Mello nodded and muttered a quick thanks. Who was Near's crony following around. He bit into the chocolate bar Naoko had just tossed him. "What a pain…"

"Goggles, play Mario Kart with me!" Hiroko ordered, already setting the game up.

Matt plopped down next to Hiroko. "Of course, your majesty."

"And no cheating this time!" Hiroko hissed.

"I never cheat."

"You electrocuted me when I was about to win last time!" Hiroko whined as the game started up.

Naoko rolled her eyes and started preparing dinner. She glanced over at Mello who was completely absorbed in whatever was on his computer. She looked outside and was surprised to see it had started snowing. "Oh yeah…it's almost Christmas…"

Mello glanced up from his laptop. "What?"

Naoko quickly smiled and focused on cooking. "Nothing. Nothing at all."


	37. Christmas

**Sakura02: You shouldn't be that surprised; it is Matt and Mello. I threw up in my mouth when I read the second part of your review. Thanks for that.**

**Thanks: smokeyuchiha, alfred. albarn, Phoenix, and Lady Miel Cacao for your reviews!**

* * *

"Naoko, wake up!" Hiroko squealed excitedly, jumping up and down on her twin's bed.

Naoko groaned and pulled the covers over her head. She wasn't sure what time it was, but it was definitely too early to be up. There was only one day during the year that Hiroko woke up before Naoko. "Hiroko, I don't think there's going to be presents under the tree, let alone an actual tree."

Hiroko's grin widened, though Naoko didn't see it. She yanked the covers off her sister. "That's what I thought too! I was so upset when I woke up. I was going to wake you up and make you make me pancakes, but I really had to go to the bathroom. So, I went out in the hallway, and…you really need to come see this!"

Naoko reluctantly allowed herself to be dragged out of bed. She pulled her sleep shirt down and tried to rub the remaining sleep from her eyes. It took her a moment to process what it was she saw in the living room.

There was a small Christmas tree in the corner by the television. It was only decorated with a few strings of lights. Beneath the Christmas tree were a couple of simply wrapped presents beneath the tree.

"This was all my idea!" Matt poked his head out of the kitchen, a bowl of cereal in his hands. He shoveled a spoonful of cereal into his mouth before speaking again. "You two have been some of the best kidnap victims we've ever had. I figured you two had earned a reward."

"Thanks…I think…" Naoko said unsurely.

Hiroko skipped happily over to the tree. She picked one of the presents up and began shaking it, frowning when she didn't hear anything. "Hey, Goggles, who is this for?"

"Oh, that's for you." Matt said with a wide grin.

Hiroko looked suspiciously between Matt and the box. "It's not going to blow up in my face, is it?"

Matt waved his spoon around dismissively. "Nah. Mello would kill me if I blew up the apartment. Go ahead; open it."

Hiroko looked over at her twin, who simply shrugged for an answer. Carefully, Hiroko tore off the wrapping paper. The taped up cardboard box was one of the most sinister looking things Hiroko had ever seen in her thirteen years of life. She pulled the tape off and slowly opened the box. She raised an eyebrow and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. "What's this?"

"You can read, can't you?" Matt answered.

Hiroko unfolded the piece of paper. "It's an I.O.U for…" She let out a squeal as she finished reading the paper. "Are you serious?"

Naoko peered over Hiroko's shoulder to read the paper. She looked at Matt and gave him an inquisitive look. "You're really going to buy her a DS?"

"Not just a DS." Hiroko corrected, a wide grin on her face. "A pink one! I'm so going to whoop your butt at Mario Kart, Goggles!"

Matt flicked Hiroko in the back of her head while he made his way over to the tree. "In your dreams, Brat." He picked up the remaining Christmas present and handed it to Naoko. "You were a little harder to shop for. You don't scream your demands like some brats do."

Naoko gave Matt a hesitant smile. She tore open the wrapping paper and opened the cardboard box to find a piece of folded paper inside. She read the paper and couldn't stifle a giggle. She handed the paper to her curious twin.

Hiroko read over the words. She looked up at Matt with a dubious expression. "You are going to clean the apartment and do the laundry for a week? I'll see it when I believe it."

Matt huffed indignantly. "I did that stuff before we kidnapped you guys. Naoko just happens to do it better."

"Thanks, Matt-san." Naoko said, standing up. "I'll make everyone some breakfast. Where's Mello-san?"

Matt quickly stopped eating his cereal. "He's still asleep."

"Can you make French Toast?" Hiroko asked excitedly. She stood up as well, hopping up and down. "Please? Just like how Mom used to?"

"I can try." Naoko said, already in the kitchen and pulling out everything she'd need. "I'll make some eggs, bacon…"

"I'll help!" Hiroko shouted, helping Naoko get all the ingredients.

Matt poked his head into the kitchen. "Need any help?"

"No." Naoko answered, preheating the oven. "This will be our Christmas present to you and Mello-san."

Matt looked nervously over at Hiroko. He warily watched the girl mixing together the batter for the French Toast. "You aren't going to poison me, are you?"

Hiroko stuck her tongue out him. "Not today. I need you to buy me the DS first. Now, get out!"

The two sisters worked together in relative silence. They could hear Matt playing his DS in the living room, and the sound of cars outside. Snow was falling fairly heavily outside. The balcony was blanketed in white. The patio furniture was completely buried in snow. The sound of a door opening broke the otherwise peaceful silence.

Mello yawned and walked into the kitchen. He raised his eyebrows at the two girls hard at work. "What's going on?"

Naoko smiled over at him. "Merry Christmas, Mello-san. Hiroko and I are making breakfast to say thank you for the presents."

Hiroko frowned at Mello. "You didn't get us a present, though. You can have cereal for breakfast."

Mello rolled his eyes and finger combed his hair. "Shut up."

"Breakfast is ready." Naoko intervened, really hoping that Mello wouldn't shock her sister into a coma for back talking. She quickly set the small kitchen table. The odd group sat down and ate their breakfast silently. Mello had a serious look on his face, as though he were trying to make a very serious decision.

Matt sighed and leaned happily back in his chair once he was done eating. "That was really good, Naoko."

"I helped!" Hiroko huffed indignantly.

Matt quickly scooped the plates up. "I'll do the dishes. Mello has to give the two of you his present now." He grinned over at the clearly irritated look on Mello's face.

Mello sighed irritably. He looked at the curious faces on both girls. "Put your hands on the table."

Hiroko looked at Naoko, and shrugged. She put both her hands on the table first, Naoko quickly following her example.

Mello held up Naoko's wrist with the bracelet first. He fiddled with the bracelet for a few moments before it finally came out. Naoko couldn't help wincing as the needle that had been pumping the drugs into her was pulled out. She knew her wrist was going to be sore for a while. She watched him do the same to Hiroko.

"Why?" Naoko asked curiously.

"It'll take the drugs a few days to get out of your systems." Mello explained, looking down at the two bracelets on the table. "I'm going to need the both of you to help with something very important, and I'll need your powers to do it."

"Does it have to do with Kira?" Hiroko asked, rubbing her wrist gently.

Mello nodded. "This could help us catch him. If we catch him, I'll return the two of you to the Task Force."

"How do you know we just won't use our powers to escape?" Naoko piped up, earning herself a glare from her sister. She was really hoping that Mello wouldn't put the bracelets back on them.

Mello was quiet for a moment. He finally shrugged and stood up. "I'm trusting that you won't. I'll be in my room planning. Unless it's an emergency, I don't want to be disturbed. Understand, Matt?"

Naoko and Hiroko looked at each other. They had no idea what plan Mello was talking about. It was tempting to try and use their powers to just escape, but the thought of catching Kira was even more tempting. They both silently agreed to stay with Mello and Matt, at least for the time being.


	38. Helping

**ilovezim: Because anything involving Mello planning something creates a bubble of dread.  
Sakura02: Lol, hush! I had planned this chapter a long time ago. At least it wasn't Christmas in July.  
Phoenix: You'll have to read this chapter to find out :)**

**Thank you: smokeyuchiha, cookie, Lady Miel Cacao, and sweetchill for reviewing.**

**Over 400 review! Hooray!**

* * *

"Why do I have to wait here, Mello-san?" Naoko pouted. She shifted uncomfortably on the cold floor of the delivery truck that Mello had obtained.

"I need you to wait here for me." Mello replied. "I'd take you with me if I could but it's too dangerous." He was startled when he suddenly was knocked into the wall of the cargo box. He looked down and found Naoko hugging him tightly, hiding her face in his chest.

"Please be careful." Naoko whispered.

Mello hesitated, unsure of what to do. He finally patted Naoko on the head. "I will. Be patient." Mello gently pushed Naoko away from him and hopped onto his bike, leaving Naoko to sit on the floor to wait for his return.

xXx

Hiroko slouched down in the passenger side of the red car she and Matt were in. "Why do you have a gun in your hand?" She couldn't see much through the tinted windows, and Matt was blocking the view through his open window. She could hear quite a few voices, though.

"Hiroko, you need to be very quiet and not interfere for the next few minutes." Matt pointed the gun out the window and shot a smoke bomb into the large crowd. He then quickly sped off, avoiding the cars chasing after them.

Matt took a sharp left, ignoring Hiroko's yelp of protest. He chewed irritably on the end of his cigarette when he realized they were surrounded. He slowly opened his car door. "Wait in here, Hiroko. I'll be right back."

"Are you crazy? They'll kill you!" Hiroko protested. She grabbed onto Matt's sleeve before he could set foot outside. "Matt, please don't go."

"Hey, it's okay. I'll be right back." Matt assured. He pulled himself from Hiroko's grasp and walked outside.

Hiroko watched in horror as all the men surrounding Matt shot at him. Reacting on instinct more than anything, Hiroko held her hands up.

Matt could barely keep himself standing upright. The bullets stopped mere centimeters from him. He could even feel some of them pressing against his clothing if he breathed too deeply. He watched in mild fascination as the bullets turned away from him and shot at the men. He quickly climbed back in the car. "You didn't hit any of them."

Hiroko roughly punched Matt in the shoulder. Tears were standing at the corner of her eyes. "You idiot! I told you not to get out! What if I hadn't stopped those bullets? You would've…you…" Her words were cut off by the loud sound of a helicopter above them.

Matt quickly put the car in drive, and slammed his foot on the gas pedal. The car squealed before speeding away. "We need to lose that helicopter. He looked over at Hiroko when she rolled the window down. "What are you doing?"

"Getting rid of the helicopter." Hiroko answered. She leaned part of the ways out of the window so that she could completely see the helicopter. She took a deep breath, and held both her hands out. She'd never done something on this scale before, and she was feeling tired from diverting the bullets only moments earlier. She grinned in triumph as the helicopter turned away and crashed into the highway, blocking any other cars that were trying to follow them.

"Great job, Hiroko." Matt glanced over and saw that Hiroko was completely slouched over. "Hey are you okay?" He asked worriedly. She was breathing heavily, trembling, and her face was completely white. He pulled the car into an alley where they were out of sight. He reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hiroko?"

Hiroko threw her arms around Matt. "You…idiot…you could've died!"

Matt shifted nervously when he realized Hiroko was crying. "Hey…it's okay. You saved me. I'm not dead. I'm fine." He held her face in between his hands. "Thanks for saving me. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you. So, stop crying."

Hiroko took a deep breath. She managed to stop her tears after a few more minutes. "You better buy me five games to go with the DS you owe me."

Matt grinned and ruffled her hair. "Deal. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, just tired." Hiroko answered. She finally pulled away from Matt and leaned against her seat. "I haven't used my powers in a while, and never on something as big as a helicopter.

"Remind me not to piss you off." Matt teased. He started the car back up and began driving.

"Where are we going?" Hiroko asked curiously.

"Mello has a safe place for you and Naoko to stay for a while." Matt answered. He wouldn't say anything else, despite Hiroko's attempts to pry more information from him.

xXx

Naoko stood up as Mello's bike drove into the back of the truck. She ran forward only to stop when she saw who was behind Mello. Her eyes narrowed. "What is she doing here?"

Mello rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Naoko."

Takada looked curiously at the teenage girl. "Have we met?"

"Seven years ago, at the University. You were stalking Light-san." Naoko bit out.

Takada smirked. "Oh yes, you were that little baby."

Naoko was ready to throw the woman into the wall of the box. Something about women like Takada and Misa really irritated her. She blinked when Mello grabbed her arm.

"Stay calm." Mello muttered. He glared over at Takada and forced her to the back of the truck. He tossed a box over to Takada. "Take all your clothes off and put them in there."

Takada glared at him. "You want me to strip naked right here?"

Naoko glared at Takada. "You heard him."

Mello raised an eyebrow at Naoko's behavior. He'd never seen Naoko so angry before. She hadn't even been this hateful towards him when he'd kidnapped her. Mello became impatient when Takada didn't immediately follow his orders, and pulled a gun out. He pointed it at Takada. "Hurry up, Woman. I'll give you this blanket so hurry up."

Naoko slid down the wall, glaring at Takada the whole time. She didn't trust this woman at all. Her aura made Naoko's head hurt, more than even Misa's did. When Takada made Mello turn around, Naoko refused. "I'm a girl too so it shouldn't matter."

Takada glared at the girl and turned her back. She tossed her underwear into the box. Her and Naoko continued their death glare match as Mello left the truck to get rid of Takada's clothes.

"So," Takada spoke when the truck began to move. "you've abandoned Yagami-kun and have started working with heathens like him."

Naoko growled. "I did not abandon Light-san. And don't you dare call Mello-san a heathen!"

The two girls sat in the back of the truck, neither speaking. When the truck finally came to a stop, Naoko was looking off to the side, away from Takada. She glanced over at the corner of her eye, not moving her head when she noticed Takada pull something out of the blanket. Her eyes widened when she saw it was a tiny pen and a piece of paper.

Takada had only written down Mello's first name when she was suddenly flung into the side of the box. She screamed and attempted to break free of the invisible force holding her against the wall.

"You…you…!" Naoko screamed, unable to find the proper words to voice her anger. She rushed over and yanked the piece of paper from Takada's grasp. She used her telekinesis to throw Takada into the opposite side of the box.

"Naoko, stop!" Mello ran into the box and grabbed Naoko's arm. Mello took the paper from Naoko's trembling grasp. He frowned when he saw that his first name was on the paper. He pulled his gun out and pointed it at Takada. "You will contact Kira and act as though you were able to kill me. We'll be outside and if you tell him anything else, I'll kill you. Do you have any more of this paper with you?"

Takada began crying and quickly shook her head. "No. That was my only one."

"Naoko, get out of the truck."

Naoko did as she was told, collapsing on the ground once she got out. She couldn't bring herself to stand up. She didn't even realize she was crying until she felt a hand on her cheek, wiping her tears away. She looked at Mello and let out a sob, tackling him to the ground. "I was so scared! I thought she'd written your whole name on the paper! I was scared you were going to die!"

Mello slowly wrapped an arm around Naoko after a moment. "It's okay. You did good. Now, I need you to be quiet so I can hear what she says."

Naoko nodded, holding onto Mello tightly.

Once Mello was satisfied that Takada had done as instructed, he helped Naoko to stand up. He reopened the truck door and pulled the motorcycle out. He glared at Takada. "You'll stay here and wait for them to come and rescue you." He slammed the truck door shut and locked it. He climbed onto the bike and held his helmet out to Naoko. "Put the helmet on and get on."

Naoko nodded and quickly put the helmet on, climbing on behind Mello and wrapping her arms around him. "Are you okay?"

Mello smirked. "Yeah. I've never seen you get so angry like that. Who knew that a scared little rabbit could do something like that."

Naoko laughed and squeezed Mello. "Nobody messes with the people I care about."

Mello had to hold in a smile. "Hold on tight."

"Where are we going?" Naoko yelled over the wind.

"Somewhere you and Hiroko will be safe!" Mello replied.


	39. Reunited

**Sakura02: Well, they figured Light and them would go save her, not blow her up XD.**

**Phoenix: You'll find out if Near teams up with them in this chapter :)**

**Evil. Little. Kittys: L won't be coming back in this story :(**

**Thanks: ilovezim123, alfred. albarn, Princesa de la Luna, Zlo1313, Lady Miel Cacao, sweetchill, and Soul Vrazy for reviewing!**

* * *

"NAOKO-CHAN!"

Naoko yelped as she was tackled to the ground by her enthusiastic twin. She smiled and hugged Hiroko. "I missed you too, Hiroko-chan!"

Near was already regretting his decision to keep the two girls. "Tell me again why they need to be here?"

Mello bit back a smirk at Near's annoyed face. "One, they're safer here with you than with me or Matt. Two, I'm sure that they would like to see the NPA again."

Near narrowed his eyes, attempting to ignore the excited girls. "You want me to take them to the meeting?"

"Why not? Let them see that imposter for what he really is." Mello bit out.

Near refrained from rolling his eyes. "Very well then. I shall see you after this whole mess is finished."

Naoko managed to disentangle herself from Hiroko and walked over to Mello. She pouted up at him. "Why can't we stay with you and Matt-san?"

Mello pushed her head down playfully. "It's safer for you here. They'll return you to the NPA. Don't you want to go back to them?"

Naoko bit her lip, pushing Mello's hand off her head. "Yes but I want to stay with you too."

Mello laughed. "You can't have it both ways. I'll see you soon, though, so don't get upset."

Naoko tackled Mello to the ground, holding him tightly. She buried her face in his chest. "You better keep your promise. If you don't, I'll never forgive you."

Mello growled at Halle who was laughing at him. He patted Naoko's head. "I promise you, I'll come and see you soon. Who else is going to keep me sane from Matt?" He helped her stand up, ruffling her hair before he walked out the door.

Hiroko glared at Matt, her hands on her hips. "Don't forget, you promised you'd buy me a DS and games. I'll be waiting."

Matt laughed and punched her arm. "Don't worry, kiddo. When this is all over, I'll take you to a game store and let you pick one out."

Hiroko's eyes lit up as she punched Matt back. "Can I have a pink one?"

Matt startled Hiroko by pulling her into a hug. "Yeah, I'll get you a pink one."

Hiroko returned the hug before quickly pushing Matt away. She began rubbing furiously at her ear. "Gross! I can't believe you gave me a raspberry, Jerk!"

Matt quickly dodged Hiroko's furious swings. He ran out of the door, waving goodbye to the pissed off teenager.

Halle laughed at the two girls. "I'll show you girls to your room."

Hiroko wasn't listening. Instead, she was sitting beside Near, watching him play with his toys. "Near-chan, how old are you?"

Near felt like hitting the teenager. "I happen to be 19." If he wasn't Near, he would've screamed as his favorite Transformer toy was ripped from his hand.

"If you're an adult, you shouldn't play with kids toys." Hiroko stated. She stood up and dumped the Transformer toy into the trash can.

Near was shocked. He sat there for a few minutes, looking between the trash can and Hiroko. Finally, he simply curled up on the floor.

Naoko chuckled nervously and quickly pulled the toy out of trash can. She walked over to where Near was laying. "I'm sorry, Near-san. Hiroko-chan does that to people." She handed him back the toy.

He took the toy and glared at Hiroko. "She takes people's personal belongings and throws them away?"

Naoko blinked before giggling. "No. She makes people curl up in the fetal position and cry."

"I did not cry." Near huffed out. "You two go with Lidner to your room."

The twins followed the stoic woman out of the room and to their room. Halle held in a laugh when she felt the skeptical looks of the two girls on her back. "Don't worry. I'm on your side, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember you." Hiroko said. "You were talking to Mello in the bathroom. Who has conversations in the bathroom? Did you molest him? I bet you did."

Halle laughed. "No, I did not molest Mello." She opened a door for the two girls. "This is where you will stay for the next couple of days until the meeting."

Naoko and Hiroko both looked at each other, confusion etched on their faces. Naoko was the one to speak up. "What meeting?"

"The meeting to settle this Kira business once and for all." Halle said. She ushered the two girls into the room and shut the door behind her.

Hiroko collapsed on the giant bed, sighing in content. "Near-chan is fun to pick on."

Naoko puffed her cheeks out. "You shouldn't be so rude to Near-san. He didn't have to let us stay with him." Naoko's face became scared. "Hiroko-chan, are we really going to meet Kira in a few days?"

Hiroko hopped off the bed and walked over to Naoko. She hugged her twin tightly. "Don't worry, Naoko-chan. If he tries to hurt you, I'll beat him with a stick."

Naoko laughed. "Where are you going to get a stick?"

"I will find a stick before the meeting." Hiroko grinned. "You need to stop worrying about everything or else you'll get wrinkles. No guy wants to date a girl with wrinkles."

Naoko punched Hiroko in the arm before walking over to the bed. She curled up on the soft covers and fell asleep almost instantly. Hiroko followed suit, tired from all the driving and shooting she had just gone through only a few hours before.

"They're sound asleep, Near." Halle smiled at the image of the two sleeping girls on the monitor. "Do you think it's okay to take them with us?"

Near didn't look up from his toys. "They may make Kira slip up. Besides, I'm sure Naoko would want to see Yagami Light one more time."

The next few hours were silent as the SPK went about preparing for the meeting that would soon occur. The silence was broken by an ear shattering scream. Halle and Rester quickly rushed down the hallway and into the girls room.

Naoko was curled up on the bathroom floor, sobbing. Hiroko stood in the doorway, crying as well.

"Hang on, Naoko-chan! I'll go get help." Hiroko babbled out.

Naoko's eyes widened. "Don't leave me!"

"What's wrong!?" Rester shouted, Halle close on beside him.

Hiroko poked her head out of the bathroom. "Naoko-chan's bleeding!"

Halle rushed forward, pausing in the doorway. She frowned when she didn't see any blood. "Where are you bleeding from?"

Naoko shifted uncomfortably on the floor, looking nervously at Rester. "Um…the blood is…from…" She motioned to her lower half.

Halle's eyes widened for a moment before she began laughing. "You can leave, Rester. I'll take care of everything." Once Rester was gone, Halle knelt beside the upset teenager. "It's okay, Naoko-chan. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Naoko sniffled. "Well, I woke up 'cause I had to go to the bathroom. There was blood…" Naoko blushed, clearly uncomfortable. "I started crying and then Hiroko started screaming about how there was blood on the bed." Naoko began sobbing again. "Am I going to die, Halle-san?"

Hiroko joined in the crying. "Naoko-chan is dying!"

Halle laughed. "You're not dying, Naoko-chan. You simply got your period."

Naoko blinked. "What's a…period?"

Halle's eyes widened. "Nobody ever told you about getting your period? Your mother? Anybody?"

Naoko shook her head. "Our mom got killed when we were six and none of the NPA ever said anything about it."

Now that Halle thought of it, the girls had been raised by virtually all men. She sighed. "Hiroko, why don't you go wait in the bedroom and I'll take care of Naoko. After that, we're going to have a long talk."

Hiroko sat on the bed, kicking her legs impatiently. She was relieved when Naoko emerged from the bathroom, no longer crying. She hugged her twin as Naoko sat beside her.

Halle pulled a chair up in front of the girls. "We're going to have a talk about becoming a woman and where babies come from."

The two girls listened attentively to Halle as she explained everything, their eyes getting bigger and bigger. When Halle was finished, Hiroko huffed. "Ryuuzaki-chan lied to me! He said babies were delivered by storks and the stork that delivered me had horns and worked for the devil!"

Halle laughed loudly. "Why don't you two change into some pajamas and I'll make you both a pallet in the main room."

"Like a slumber party?" Hiroko asked excitedly. When she received a positive nod from Halle she jumped up. "We get to have a slumber party with Near-chan!"

Near glowered at Halle as she walked into the room. "Why did you tell them they could come in here?"

Halle waved her hand dismissively. "I think it's better not to leave them alone for right now."

The twins walked in at that moment, both wearing matching pajamas. The two dove onto their pallets, Hiroko on the one closest to Near and Naoko on the one beside her.

Near glared at the mischievous twin. "Don't interrupt my work."

Hiroko pouted. "Why are you so uptight, Near-chan?"

Near could feel his eye twitching. He wondered how L had dealt with this girl without beating her. "I don't like being called Near-chan."

Hiroko stuck her tongue out. "Fine. Be an uptight jerk."

A few minutes later, the two girls were sound asleep. Near sighed. Just one more day before the final meeting with Kira. One more day until this was all settled.

xXx

"Mogi-san!"

"Mogi-chan!"

The twins tackled the unsuspecting man as he walked into the warehouse. Mogi patted both girls on the head, conveying his happiness at seeing the two again.

"Who are we waiting for?" Hiroko asked, looking around the deserted area. A chill went up her back. This place gave her the creeps.

Near twirled a lock of hair. "The NPA."

Naoko's eyes widened. "Why are we waiting for the NPA?"

"Kira is among them." Near said plainly.

Both girls fell silent. Was one of the men that had taken care of them really the cold blooded killer Kira? The sadness was short lived when Matsuda and Aizawa walked through the door. Both men received the same treatment Mogi had.

"It's great to see you two again!" Matsuda laughed as he hugged Naoko tightly.

Aizawa frowned at Near over Hiroko's head. "Why did you bring them here?"

Near didn't even bother to look over at him. "Don't worry. I'm confident he won't harm either of them. Naoko-san, Hiroko-san, please come back over here."

The two girls looked at Aizawa and Matsuda in confusion before doing as they were asked to. They watched the two men walk back out of the warehouse without another word.

"No matter what happens, no matter who comes through that door, do not move from this spot." Near said.

Before the two girls could ask what he was talking about, the NPA walked in. Naoko nearly disobeyed Near when she saw who was walking through the door.

"Light-san!" She brought herself up short. Maybe it was because she'd been away from him for so long, but something about his aura was different. It was dark and cold, and it frightened her. She immediately reached out and grabbed onto Hiroko's hand when she saw what was hovering around above everyone. It was a shinigami.

Light was shocked to see the two girls there. Neither Aizawa or Matsuda had mentioned anything about the two girls being there. He smiled nonetheless. "I'm glad the two of you are okay, Naoko-chan."

Naoko frowned when she felt Halle holding her arm. "Halle-san…?"

Halle shook her head. "Be silent, you two."

The two girls did as they were told. Remaining silent as everyone spoke. The minutes wore on and the two girls continued holding hands. They were afraid. Both could see Ryuk but neither was allowed to speak. Both wanted this to be over and done with, but they had to be patient. They were both afraid as the conversation focused on death and everyone dying.

"It's okay." Halle said from behind the two girls. "Near knows what he's doing."

"He's here." Near whispered. "The one that will complete our circle."

Halle allowed the twins to hold onto her, understanding how terrifying a situation such as this could be. She didn't approve of the decision to have the girls here but there was no turning back now. "It's okay. Nothing will happen to either of you."

Naoko dared to glance over at the door and almost yelled. She could see a red eye staring through a crack in the door. The aura coming through the door was chaotic and dark. Naoko's head was spinning from all the auras constantly changing between fear and excitement. She reached across Halle and grabbed Hiroko's hand. She hoped that all of this would be over soon. She hoped that the thought now creeping into her head was wrong. She hoped that Light was not really Kira.


	40. Truth Revealed

**Sakura02: I don't approve of creeper and his creeper ways. **

**Thank you: Saint River 2.0, Evil. Little. Kittys, Soul Vrazy, AL19, Feelin' the Aster, Lady Miel Cacao, Phoenix, Hau, and RandomReader for reviewing!**

* * *

Hiroko screamed as Matsuda, Rester, and Giovanni all pulled out their guns. She began shaking as Halle held her and Naoko closer.

"Everyone, please put away your weapons." Near's quiet voice managed to break through Matsuda's frightened shouting and the girls' sobbing. "I promise, none of you will be harmed. Even if our names are written down, we won't die and Kira's identity will finally be revealed." He glanced over at the badly shaking Naoko. "You already know who it is, don't you, Naoko-san."

Naoko quickly shook her head, denying what she already knew in her heart. She looked fearfully over at the door, and then at Light. "I…I don't…"

"How can you guarantee we aren't going to die?" Matsuda protested.

"My team managed to get ahold of the notebook and tamper with it. We replaced the pages. After the person on the other side of that door has finished writing our names, he will look in to see if we are dead. He will be apprehended and we will be able to see who it is that is Kira."

"You're right…" Aizawa muttered to himself. "Whoever's name isn't in the notebook is definitely Kira."

Everyone was silent for what felt like hours, when only seconds had passed. Light leered over at Near, barely glancing over at the clearly frightened girls. After a moment, he finally spoke. "You, outside the door, have you finished writing the names down?"

"Yes." The person outside the door answered.

Naoko could see the way Light's aura was changing. He was excited about something, and it made Naoko's stomach sink. The answer was becoming more and more obvious to her, but she still didn't want to accept it.

"That's rather strange." Near muttered thoughtfully. "Why would he answer you?"

Light shrugged casually. "Perhaps he's just very confident."

Near inclined his head. "Perhaps." He glanced over to the door. "Come on out, Mikami Teru. I know you are the one that's been carrying out Kira's killings. You've already written down everyone's names, so there's nothing for you to fear."

There was no acknowledgment from the other side of the door. Light smirked. "Mikami Teru, stop hiding and come inside."

Hiroko mulled the name over in her head. There was something familiar about that name. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the man that walked through the door. "You're the guy from the grocery store!"

Naoko dared to look over at Mikami. He was certainly the man they had met from the store, but his aura was different, erratic and crazy. She reached over and clutched Hiroko's hand in hers.

When Mikami walked into the room, both girls were shaking badly. Naoko looked over at Light, hoping for some reassurance. She frowned at the look of almost, enjoyment on his face. "Light-san?" She whispered.

As Mikami counted down the remaining seconds, Halle continued holding the girls, whispering soothing words. "It's okay. You won't be harmed. Nothing will happen. It's okay."

"Victory is mine, Near." Light practically cackled.

Nothing happened. The two girls looked up from Halle's side, seeing the shocked looks of both Mikami and Light.

"God, I did everything you asked me to." Mikami whimpered pitifully.

"Rester, please apprehend Mikami Teru. Gevanni, the notebook please." Near said quietly. Once the notebook was in his hand, Near held up the notebook so everyone could see. "I would like everyone to see that on the top line of the Death Note that they are the names of the SPK. The bottom line is the members of the NPA. Please note that Yagami Light's name is not on here. Mikami called you 'God' and said he did as you'd told him."

"What about Hiroko and Naoko's names!?" Light cried angrily. "Their names are not in the notebook either!"

Hiroko growled low in her throat. "Are you trying to accuse us of something!?"

Near looked at the two girls. "It is true that neither of the girls name is in the notebook. I believe that is because Kira has a deep affection for Naoko-san and realizes it would hurt her if her twin died." He noticed how pale Naoko's face was as he spoke.

"This is a trap!" Light shouted.

Naoko took a few steps forward. She hadn't wanted to believe it, even though she'd known the truth since they'd entered into the warehouse. New tears filled her eyes as she looked at Light with betrayed eyes. "Light-san, how could you? All those people…how could you kill all those people? You were even willing to kill Matsuda-san and the others…"

"Naoko, you have to believe me! I don't even know that guy!" Light pleaded.

"Light, you saying this was your victory is as good as a confession." Aizawa said.

"Girls, stay back!" Halle said as Mogi attempt to cuff Light.

Naoko and Hiroko watched as Light backed himself into a wall and began arguing with Near. Hiroko held Naoko as her twin cried, trying to soothe her. Hiroko glared angrily at Light. She had always had a sinking suspicion about Light. She'd never said anything mostly for Naoko's sake, and because Light had done so much for the twins. Now, knowing he was Kira, knowing he was the one that had killed Ryuuzaki…

Both girls were terrified when Light began laughing insanely. Hiroko tried to hold Naoko back, but Naoko walked forward to stand beside Near. How could the person she had idolized, the person she wished to grow up to be like, be Kira? How could he deceive her like that? No…he had never deceived her. She'd always known, always been able to see the truth in Light's aura. She just hadn't wanted to see it, hadn't wanted to believe it.

"That's right, I am Kira." Light said evilly.

It was the same feeling of coldness that Naoko had felt all those years ago at To-oh University that washed over her now. Light was Kira. The person who had been one of her most cherished people, was an evil being.

"Naoko-san, please stay back." Near said, holding his arm out in front of Naoko.

Near and Light continued talking. Naoko wasn't absorbing any of it. She absently watched Light open up a hidden compartment in his watch. The next thing she knew was that suddenly, Matsuda shot Light's hand. She screamed and ran forward, only to be held back by Rester. She struggled against him, trying to reach Light. She managed to break free as Matsuda continued shooting Light. She covered Light's body with her own and stopped most of the bullets with her powers. One managed to escape her notice and pierced through her shoulder.

"You shot her!" Hiroko screamed as Halle held her back. "You bastard, you shot her!"

"Move, Naoko! I'm going to kill him!" Matsuda yelled, tears pouring down his face.

Naoko looked up, shaking her head as her own tears fell. Her hands were trembling as she continued holding the bullets at bay. Her shoulder hurt, and she could feel the blood seeping from the wound in her shoulder. "No!"

"Are you on his side!?" Matsuda screamed.

"No!" Naoko shouted back. She finally managed to make the bullets drop uselessly to the ground. She dropped her hand to her wounded shoulder. "What Kira has done is wrong! But…but Light-san took care of me and my sister! He took us in! I want to save Light-san, not Kira!"

"Naoko, it's too late for that." Aizawa said quietly. He pulled the distraught girl off of Light. "Light is gone. Only Kira remains. Mogi, Ide, apprehend Yagami Light."

Naoko watched as Light pleaded for Ryuk to kill everyone. She watched the shinigami write something in his own notebook. Everyone waited with bated breath to see what would happen. It was Light that began clutching at his chest in pain. Naoko managed to pull away from Aizawa's grip. She walked over to where Light lay writhing on the ground pitifully. She held his face in her hands and whispered softly to him. "It's okay, Light-san. Please stop." Tears continued to roll down her cheeks. Her shoulder was hurting terribly but she ignored it. "Please stop. It's okay."

Light looked at her. "I…I wanted to do it for people like you, Naoko. I wanted you to live in a world with no crime, with no suffering."

Naoko held his hand in both of hers. "I know. It's okay. I'll…I'll always remember you as Yagami Light, not Kira." She felt Light's hand go limp in hers.

She began sobbing uncontrollably. She barely felt her sister's arms wrap around her. All she knew was that her shoulder hurt and so did her heart. She was exhausted from everything that had just happened. She heard the sound of the door opening again. She looked up and saw Mello and Matt quickly approaching. She stood up to say something to them. Instead, her legs gave out from beneath her, and she collapsed.

"Naoko!" Hiroko screamed in alarm. She caught her sister before Naoko hit the floor. Hiroko glared hatefully up at Ryuk. "You! This is all your fault! You should've never brought that notebook here!"

Ryuk fluttered hesitantly in the air. "Now, there's no need to be angry with me. I didn't tell him to use it that way." He flinched at the pure hatred in Hiroko's eyes.

Matt rushed over to the furious twin and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's enough, Hiroko. We need to get Naoko to a hospital."

Hiroko glared up at the shinigami one last time. "If I ever see you again, I will kill you."

"I don't doubt that." Ryuk quickly flew off through the wall in the warehouse and disappeared. He'd have to report to the Shinigami King about the girls. He'd be very interested to know about their development.


	41. Hospital

**Sakura02: Lol, you know you gonna miss Mr. Cray Cray!  
Phoenix: Not counting the epilogue, yes this is the last chapter. There will be a sequel though!**

**Thanks: ilovezim123, Lady Miel Cacao, Yami Mizuna, Guest, **

"Sir, you can't go in there! Miss, she needs her rest!"

Naoko woke up slowly, taking her surroundings in. She was in a hospital, that she was sure of. Her entire body hurt, particularly her shoulder. Everything came rushing back to her in a flood of images and sounds. She bit her lip and attempted to hold the tears at bay. Trying to distract herself, she looked over at the door where a nurse was desperately trying to hold somebody back.

"If you don't let me in to see my sister, I'll beat you up!" Hiroko's voice came clearly into Naoko's room, almost as though she was standing right beside Naoko.

"Please let them in." Naoko said weakly. She needed something, anything to distract her from the thoughts flowing through her mind.

The nurse looked over before reluctantly. She voiced a few feeble protest against Naoko having any visitors. She saw the look on Naoko's face, and sighed when she realized the teenage girl wasn't even listening to her. She moved to the side and allowed the group of people hovering in the doorway in.

Hiroko ran over to the side of the bed, hugging Naoko gently. She kissed the top of Naoko's head and whimpered softly. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was scared you wouldn't wake up." She'd been sick with worry ever since Naoko had been admitted to the hospital. The thought of losing yet another person frightened her, especially when it was her sister. She couldn't bear the thought of being alone.

Naoko smiled sadly and hugged her sister back. "I'm fine." She looked up and saw the rest of the group was in her room as well. They were all standing around her bed, looking at her. Naoko quickly buried her face in Hiroko's shoulder, and hugged her tighter. She couldn't look at any of them in the eye. Not now. Not with all the images in her head.

Hiroko straightened up. "I'll go get you something to eat. You must be starving." She ran out of the room before Naoko could say anything in protest.

"How long was I asleep?" Naoko asked quietly, still not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Three days." Mello replied when no one else did. "They said it was more from your mental state then your actual injury."

"I see." Naoko gripped the sheets tightly. The tears finally came then, and she couldn't stop them. The rolled down her cheeks and splashed onto her hands and the sheets. She buried her face in her hands, trying to cover her face, even though they'd all already seen her.

Mello sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Naoko's hands from her face. "If you want to cry, then cry. Don't hide it like your ashamed of it."

Naoko let out a choked sob before latching on to the front of Mello's shirt. "Light-san was….Light-san is…" She couldn't form a coherent sentence.

Mello hugged her tightly, avoiding her injured shoulder. He glared at the others in the room, daring them to say anything to him. He growled when Matsuda stepped forward to try and take Naoko away from him. He didn't even glance up when Hiroko came back in with a pudding cup.

Hiroko sat behind Naoko, leaning against her back. She put the pudding cup on the tray beside Naoko's bed, knowing her sister wasn't ready to eat quite yet. She couldn't convey the understanding she felt to Naoko's situation. She understood what it was like to lose someone you love with all your heart, someone you aspired to be like.

Aizawa cleared his throat as Naoko's tears subsided. "I spoke to the hospital about Hiroko and Naoko's current situation. As of right now, they are considered orphans..."

"I'm not going to an orphanage!" Hiroko shouted, hugging Naoko protectively in her arms. "Neither is Naoko!"

"Calm down, Hiroko!" Aizawa quickly placed a hand on the frightened girl's shoulder. "Nobody said anything about you two going to an orphanage. Someone has already agreed to take the two of you in."

Before either Hiroko or Naoko could ask who it was, Yagami Sachiko smiled softly at the two girls. Sachiko sat down on the edge of the bed, and placed a hand on both girls cheeks. She kissed both their foreheads. She could see the fear and the sadness in their eyes. "You two will be staying with me and Sayu. I won't see the two of you split up."

"Thank you, Sachiko-san." Naoko said quietly.

"Yagami-san, if you could please excuse us, we have a few more details to discuss with the twins." Aizawa said. He waited for Sachiko to leave the room before he spoke up again. "We've decided to withhold the identity of Kira from the public. It was really Near's idea. Yagami-san doesn't need any more heartache."

Naoko nodded her head slowly. "Of course." She was so tired. She could barely keep her eyes open.

Hiroko saw how exhausted her sister was. She was too tired to try and comprehend everything that had happened over the past few days. Hiroko smiled gratefully up at Aizawa. "Thank you, Aizawa-san. Can all of you leave? Naoko-chan and I want to be alone." She watched everyone leave the room. Mello was the last one out, slowly closing the door behind him. She sagged against Naoko's back and kissed the side of her head.

Naoko curled up on her side, smiling softly when Hiroko mimicked her. The two girls held hands, pressing their foreheads together. Neither said anything but both conveyed to the other that they were still there. Despite everything they had lost, they still had each other. No matter what happened now or in the future, they would always have each other. "We're going to be okay…everything is going to be okay…"


	42. Epilogue

**Sinister Smiley: Not in this story. The girls are too young. The sequel is a whole other story entirely.  
Sakura02: He was taking a nap in the waiting room! Playing all those video games is hard work!**

**Thank you: ilovezim123, Saint River 2.0, Evil. Little. Kittys, Alfred. Albarn, and Phoenix for reviewing!**

**Here's the epilogue, everyone! Look for the sequel in a couple of weeks. I'm not sure what the title will be just yet. I hope you'll all read it and enjoy it!**

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Sachiko fussed over a stray strand of hair across Hiroko's forehead. "Honestly, Hiroko, your hair is as you are."

Naoko giggled at the pout on her sister's face. She adjusted the skirt of her high school uniform. The twins had just turned sixteen a couple weeks ago, and now they were about to go to their first day of high school. "We're going to be late, Sachiko-san." Naoko said quietly.

Sachiko sighed and finally stopped attempting to fix Hiroko's short and unruly hair. "You're right." She hugged Hiroko first, and then Naoko. She kissed both girls on the cheek. "You two know which train to take?"

"Yes ma'am." Hiroko answered.

Sachiko followed the two girls to the front door, and outside. "Now, don't forget, we're meeting Aizawa-san and the others for dinner tonight…" She trailed off, looking out passed the fenced in front yard.

Naoko reached out and gently touched Sachiko's hand. She wrapped her own soothing aura around Sachiko's troubled one. It was only a few days away from the three year anniversary of Light's death. "Sachiko-san…"

Sachiko smiled, and squeezed Naoko's hand. She'd finally been told about the twins powers. She had been rather shocked at first, but had come to accept their unique abilities. "I'm all right. Now, you two hurry and catch the train. You don't want to start your high school career late."

Hiroko took Naoko's hand, and the two girls rushed down the sidewalk towards the train station. They greeted each of their neighbors as they rushed passed them. Hiroko briefly did a double take as they passed one man. She swore for a moment that the man was Ryuzaki. When she glanced back over her shoulder to try and get a better look, he was gone.

The two made it to the train just in time. The doors closed behind them as soon as they boarded. The two stood beside each other in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. By the time they reached their high school, a large group of students were already there. They were split into three groups, each hovering around a board to find their homeroom.

"Naoko-chan! Hiroko-chan!" A girl with dark brown hair waved excitedly to the two girls. She grinned as they ran over to her. "We have homeroom together!"

The three girls squealed and hugged each other. Naoko pulled away first. "What about the others, Hotaru-chan?"

Hotaru sighed sadly. "Meimi-chan and Kyoko-chan are in the room next to ours." She shot Hiroko a wicked grin. "Taka is in our homeroom, though."

Hiroko blushed lightly. "Well…that's awesome." The loud sound of the school bell ringing sent all the students scurrying off to their homerooms.

Naoko and Hiroko were on opposite sides of their homeroom. Naoko stared out the window while the teacher went over rules and their different schedules. She rested her chin in her hand, and watched the sakura blossoms swirling outside. She sat up when she saw someone standing in the shadows of the school gate. She squinted against the bright sunlight, trying to see who the stranger was…

"Tendou-san!"

Naoko whipped around, ready to apologize to the teacher for staring off. It took her a moment to realize it wasn't a shout of anger, but one of fear that the teacher had let out. Naoko looked over at her sister and saw that she was staring blankly ahead. Hiroko was scribbling furiously on her open journal. Naoko leapt up and quickly rushed over to her sister. She placed her hands over Hiroko's. "Hiroko…"

Hiroko blinked out of her stupor. She stared blankly down at the paper for a moment. After a moment, she came completely to her senses and realized where she was. "Sorry…"

The teacher gave a nervous, hesitant smile. "Are you all right, Tendou-san?"

Hiroko plastered on her most convincing grin. "I'm fine. Just daydreaming."

"Well, try to keep that to a minimal in my class." The teacher turned back to the board, and continued where he had left off.

Naoko looked down at the paper and sucked in a breath. A pair of furrowed, hate filled eyes stared up at her. "Hiroko-chan…"

Hiroko quickly shook her head. "At lunch…"

Naoko nodded, and quickly took her seat. The morning passed in a blur. A few of their other friends were in their classes with them, and a boy that had been crushing on Hiroko since last year was in almost all their classes. At lunch, the twins slipped away to the roof of the school. There were a few older students up on the roof, but they didn't pay any mind to the freshman.

Hiroko pulled the journal out of her bag. She flipped to the page with the drawing, and shuddered. "The eyes were red…like a shinigami's…"

"What do you think it means?" Naoko asked worriedly.

"I don't know…" Hiroko answered. "Do you think we should bring it up to Aizawa and the others?"

Naoko shook her head. "I don't know…maybe…what if another shinigami gives another person a Death Note. It could create another Kira…" She choked out the word, immediately thinking of Light. She tried her best to remember his kind and gentle face, but she'd found over the months that this image was slowly being eroded away by the image of him as Kira.

"We'll talk to them after dinner. Not in front of Sachiko-san or Sayu-neesan." Hiroko said quietly. She squeezed her sister's hand.

Naoko gave her sister a small smile. The sound of her cellphone vibrating in her bag brought her out of her thoughts. She quickly pulled it out, only to see Mello's name flashing across her screen. "Hello?"

"You shouldn't be up on the roof. Last I knew, that was against the rules." Mello's voice was gruff, but comforting through the phone.

Naoko went over to the high fence that encircled the roof. She looked around, but couldn't see the blonde anywhere. "Where are you?"

"Don't worry about it. We'll see the two of you at dinner. You might want to warn that Taka boy to watch his back."

Naoko frowned and hung up the phone. "Their watching us."

Hiroko rolled her eyes and groaned in annoyance. "They're such overprotective morons. It's not like anyone is going to kidnap us."

"They did." Naoko pointed out. The bell rang, and the two made their way to their next class. "Oh, Mello-san said to tell Taka to watch his back."

The rest of the day passed quickly. They were leaving the school with all their friends, including Taka. Mello's warning was far from their minds, until the loud sound of a gun rang through the air and Taka fell down.

"Taka!" Hiroko screamed and knelt down beside the boy. She looked at his chest, expecting to see blood. Instead, she saw a bright green splatter across his chest. The sound of annoyingly familiar laughter near the gate made her snarl. "Damnit, Matt! You're such an ass!"

Matt cackled from his spot in the car. He pulled his paint gun back into the car and waved at the twins and shocked teenage girls. "Come on. We're going to be late for dinner. That's payback for all the times you shot my dates!"

"It was an airsoft gun." Hiroko muttered at the incredulous looks on her friends faces. She helped Taka to sit up. "Sorry about that."

Taka rubbed his chest and winced. "Friend of yours?"

"Something like that." Hiroko answered. She straightened up and dusted her skirt off. "See you guys tomorrow." She rushed over to the car and made sure to sit behind Matt.

Naoko rolled her eyes and climbed into the car. She leaned forward so she could see Mello in the driver's seat. "You could've told me what Matt was planning to do."

Mello shrugged. "That would spoil all the fun."

Hiroko kicked the back of Matt's seat angrily the whole way to the restaurant. They were the last ones to arrive. Hiroko scrambled out and rushed over to hug each of the Task Force members. "Mogi, Matt is picking on me."

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Would the two of you grow up already?" He smiled as Naoko came over and hugged him. "It's good to see you."

Naoko kissed his cheek. "You too, Aizawa-san."

Dinner was a loud and raucous affair. The only ones that weren't there from the original case were Near and his group. Sayu and Matsuda were sitting beside each other, holding hands beneath the table. Sachiko sighed over the fact that her daughter was dating a cop, and hoped the twins wouldn't do the same thing. Matt regaled the others with his epic tale of shooting a high school boy with a paint ball. None of them brought up the Kira case, or the fact that it had been almost three years since Light's death.

After dinner, the group all said goodbye to each other. Naoko hugged Mello tightly. "Are you going to be here long?"

Mello hesitantly hugged her back, trying to ignore Sachiko glaring over at him. "No. Matt and I are going to England to help Near on a case. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone. I'll call you."

Naoko held onto him tighter. "Be careful, okay? You have to come back…"

"I will." Mello promised, gently squeezing Naoko back.

Matt ruffled Hiroko's hair. "I'll bring you back a souvenir."

"It better not be some lame ass shirt." Hiroko huffed out. She cracked a small smile when Matt pulled her into a one armed hug. She hugged him back before punching him in the arm. "Tell Darling I said hi."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Of course."

The girls bade goodbye to the rest of the group. They went home with Sachiko and Sayu. Naoko and Hiroko kissed Sachiko and Sayu goodnight before going up to their room. It had once been Light's, but Sachiko had insisted that the girls use it as their room. There were some nights that it was more painful to be in there for the twins than others. The two quickly got ready for bed and climbed into their separate beds.

"Hey, Hiroko, we forgot to tell Aizawa and the others about your drawing." Naoko whispered softly.

"Oh yeah…" Hiroko yawned and turned over. "We can tell them later."

Naoko nodded. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep. That night, both girls dreamed about a shadowed man with red shinigami eyes.


End file.
